Abstract
One of the ways market practitioners connect with children, is by using online casual or mini-games, specially developed around a particular brand or product. In order to demonstrate how these so-called advergames aid in achieving a range of corporate objectives which go beyond advertising as such, and to address some of the sensitivities underlying this strategy, a popular Dutch advergame targeted at children is analysed in this chapter. Using insights from social studies of science and technology and surveillance studies, we argue that the ‘fairness question’ regarding contemporary marketing communication formats such as advergames, cannot be adequately dealt with without accounting for these formats themselves, nor for the interplay of design, strategies, practices, knowledge, human and non-human actors within a network of relations configuring these formats. In addition, we claim that market practitioners defend their practices by referring to images and conceptions of children as desiring and competent consumers which, we argue, are partly produced by the very practices they try to legitimise.
Isolde Sprenkels is a PhD researcher with the ERC funded DigIDeas project: Social and Ethical Aspects of Digital Identities. Towards a Value Sensitive Identity Management. This chapter is part of Isolde Sprenkel’s dissertation. It features not only a study of multidisciplinary literature on children, advertising, new media and consumption, but it also has its base in the empirical research conducted for the aforementioned research project such as interviews with Dutch market practitioners and observations at marketing conferences.
Irma van der Ploeg is an Associate Professor Infonomics and New Media at Zuyd University in The Netherlands, and principal investigator with the ERC funded DigIDeas project: Social and Ethical Aspects of Digital Identities. Towards a Value Sensitive Identity Management: www.digideas.com.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Daniel Cook defines the term market practitioners as “marketers, researchers, designers, manufacturers, and other market actors” as market practitioners; Cook 2011, p. 258.
- 2.
- 3.
There are different understandings of what advergames are. Within this chapter we consider advergames to be online casual or mini-games specially developed around a particular brand or product. We consider them to be a particular form of gamevertising; with gamevertising in general being the promotional or advertising possibilities before, within or after an often already existing console, pc, or internet game; Hufen 2010.
- 4.
In Dutch: OLA ‘Water Spelen’.
- 5.
OLA is the name under which the ‘Heartbrand’ operates in the Netherlands. The ice cream brand with the double lined red heart-shaped logo, is one of the food brands offered by multinational consumer goods company Unilever. Nickelodeon is a market-leading television channel for children, owned by Viacom International Media Networks Northern Europe.
- 6.
De Goeij and Kwantes 2009.
- 7.
In Dutch ‘OLA IJstijd’.
- 8.
The Dutch website is offline at time of finishing this chapter. Though the Belgian one is similar and online: www.olakids.be.
- 9.
Houben 2009.
- 10.
OLA 2009.
- 11.
Professor ‘De Vries’ in Dutch, which is actually a very common name in the Netherlands.
- 12.
OLAIJstijd 2010.
- 13.
MTV Networks 2009.
- 14.
Entertaining (cartoon) characters are often used in marketing campaigns to help sell a product, service or brand. Think of the Ronald McDonald character selling the McDonalds brand; Calvert 2008.
- 15.
Steeves 2006.
- 16.
OLA 2009.
- 17.
Grimes and Shade 2005.
- 18.
Steeves 2006.
- 19.
Gurău 2008.
- 20.
Moore 2004.
- 21.
Moore 2004.
- 22.
Gurău 2008.
- 23.
Dow Schull 2005.
- 24.
- 25.
Gurău 2008.
- 26.
- 27.
Dow Schull 2005.
- 28.
OLAIJstijd 2010.
- 29.
Livingstone 2009a, p. 170.
- 30.
Nairn and Fine 2008.
- 31.
Lunt and Livingstone 2012, p. 147.
- 32.
Although, as David Buckingham explains, some studies suggest that this understanding is not necessarily used. He claims differences in these estimations are a consequence of research method; Buckingham 2009.
- 33.
Livingstone 2009a.
- 34.
Advertising effects can be intended by advertisers, such as brand awareness and buying intent, and non-intended, such as materialism and family conflicts; Valkenburg 2002, p. 140. In this chapter we call intended effects by advertisers ‘goals’.
- 35.
Livingstone and Helsper 2006.
- 36.
Livingstone and Helsper 2006.
- 37.
Here Livingstone and Helsper are inspired by Petty & Cacioppo’s Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion which distinguishes two routes of persuasion, a central one and the peripheral one; Livingstone and Helsper 2006.
- 38.
Moore 2004.
- 39.
Livingstone 2009a.
- 40.
Livingstone 2009a, p. 172.
- 41.
Nairn and Fine 2008.
- 42.
- 43.
Friestad and Wright 1994.
- 44.
Cook 2011.
- 45.
Livingstone 2009a, p. 172.
- 46.
Livingstone 2009a.
- 47.
- 48.
The analytic symmetry between the social and material, between humans and non-humans, actors within and constituting networks, is part of a research approach or method called Actor Network Theory (ANT), originally developed by Bruno Latour (Latour 1987, 1991) and Michel Callon (Callon 1986). The title of this chapter refers to the ANT dictum to ‘follow the actors’ as well, describing and following any actor expressing itself when describing a network or relations.
- 49.
Livingstone 2009b, p. 195.
- 50.
Steve Woolgar “suggested that how users ‘read’ machines are constrained because the design and the production of machines entails a process of configuring the user” (Oudshoorn and Pinch 2005, p. 8), which means that both user and possible actions of the user are constructed in the design process.
- 51.
Oudshoorn and Pinch 2005, p. 7.
- 52.
Akrich and Latour 1992.
- 53.
Their notion of ‘script’ has its origins in ANT which is described in footnote 5. “Like a film script, technical objects define a framework of action together with the space of actors and the space in which they are supposed to act”; Akrich 1992, p. 208. “Technical objects participate in building heterogeneous networks that bring together actants of all types and sizes, whether humans of nonhumans”; Akrich 1992, p. 206.
- 54.
Oudshoorn and Pinch 2005.
- 55.
Edery 2009.
- 56.
Cook 2011.
- 57.
Isolde Sprenkels analyse the way in which market practitioners’ research methods can be understood in a performative manner in her forthcoming dissertation, i.e. their research methods do not just represent a reality out there, but constitute or perform reality into being; Law 2009.
- 58.
Cook 2011.
- 59.
Nederlandse Reclame Code.
- 60.
Fielder et al. 2007.
- 61.
Moore 2004.
- 62.
Buckingham 2007.
- 63.
- 64.
Reintjes 2009.
- 65.
Jansen 2009.
- 66.
References
Akrich M (1992) The description of technical objects. In: Bijker WE, Law J (eds) Shaping technology/building society: studies in sociotechnical change. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 205–224
Akrich M, Latour B (1992) A summary of a convenient vocabulary for the semiotics of human and nonhuman assemblies. In: Bijker W E and Law J (eds) Shaping technology/building society: studies in sociotechnical change. MIT Press, Cambridge
Bennett S, Maton K, Kervin L (2008) The ‘digital natives’ debate: a critical review of the evidence. Br J Educ Technol 39(5):775–786
Buckingham D (2007) Selling childhood? Children and consumer culture. J Child Media 1(1):15–24
Buckingham D (2009) Beyond the competent consumer: the role of media literacy in the making of regulatory policy on children and food advertising in the UK. Int J Cult Policy 15(2):217–230
Callon M (1986) Some elements of a sociology of translation: domestication of the scallops and the fishermen of St Brieuc Bay. In: Law J (ed) Power, action and belief: a new sociology of knowledge?. Routledge, London, pp 196–223
Calvert SL (2008) Children as consumers: advertising and marketing. Future Child 18(1):205–234
Chung G, Grimes SM (2005) Data mining the kids: surveillance and market research strategies in children’s online games. Can J Commun 30(4):527–548
Cook DT (2011) Commercial epistemologies of childhood. ‘Fun’ and the leveraging of children’s subjectivities and desires. In: Zwick D, Cayla J (eds) Inside marketing: practices, ideologies, devices. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 257–268
De Goeij M, Kwantes E (2009) Nickelodeon & OLA. Hoe betrek je kids écht bij je merk? Presentation at brands and games 2009. The game advertising network event. March 10, 2009. http://www.nlgd.nl/fog/pdf/bag09/BG8.pdf. Last accessed 10 June 2010
Dow Schull N (2005) Digital gambling: the coincidence of desire and design. Ann Am Acad Polit Soc Sci 597(1):65–81
Edery D (2009) Rethinking the impact and the potential of brands in games. Presentation at brands and games 2009. The game advertising network event. March 10, 2009
Elmer G (2004) Consumption in the network age: solicitation, automation, and networking. Profiling machines: mapping the personal information economy. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 52–71
Fielder A, Gardner W, Nairn A and Pitt J (2007) Fair game? Assessing commercial activity on children’s favourite websites and online environments. Report National Consumer Council and Childnet International
Friestad M, Wright P (1994) The persuasion knowledge model: how people cope with persuasion attempts. J Consum Res 21(1):1–30
Grimes SM (2008) Kid’s ad play: regulating children’s advergames in the converging media context. Int J Commun Law Policy 12:161–178
Grimes SM, Shade LR (2005) Neopian economics of play: children’s cyberpets and online communities as immersive advertising in neopets.com. Int J Media Cult Polit 1(2):181–198
Gurău C (2008) The Influence of advergames on players’ behaviour: an experimental study. Electron Markets 18(2):106–116
Helsper EJ, Enyon R (2010) Digital natives: where is the evidence? Br Educ Res J 36(3):503–520
Houben J (2009) OLA IJstijd Kids campagne 2009. Presentation at kids insights day, October 21, 2009. http://media.mtvnetworks.nl/kidsday/kidsdayjoosthouben.pdf. Last accessed 1 June 2010
Hufen B (2010) Laat met je merk spelen. Games als marketingmiddel. Kluwer, Amsterdam
Jansen S (2009) Trends in kids- en jongerenmarketing. www.frankwatching.com/archive/2009/05/19/trends-in-kids-en-jongerenmarketing-2. Last accessed 20 April 2012
Latour B (1987) Science in action. How to follow scientists and engineers through society. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Latour B (1991) Technology is society made durable. In: Law J (ed) A sociology of monsters: essays on power, technology and domination. Routledge, New York, pp 103–131
Law J (2009) Seeing like a survey. Cultural sociology 3(2):239–256
Livingstone S (2009a) Debating children’s susceptibility to persuasion—where does fairness come in? A commentary on the Nairn and Fine versus Ambler debate. Int J Advertising 28(1):170–174
Livingstone S (2009b) Children and the internet. Great expectations, challenging realities. Polity, Cambridge
Livingstone S, Helsper EJ (2006) Does advertising literacy mediate the effects of advertising on children? A critical examination of two linked research literatures in relation to obesity and food choice. J Commun 56(3):560–584
Lunt P, Livingstone S (2012) Media regulation. Governance and the interests of citizens and consumers. Sage, London
Moore ES (2004) Children and the changing world of advertising. J Bus Ethics 52(2):161–167
MTV Networks (2009) Adverteren bij MTV networks in 2010. www.mtvnetworks.nl/index.php?list/5. Last accessed 12 June 2010
Nairn A, Fine C (2008) Who’s messing with my mind? The implications of dual-process models for the ethics of advertising to children. Int J Advertising 27(3):447–470
OLA (2009) 2009 Topjaar OLA ijs. www.unileverdirect.nl/OLA/images/misc/OLAverkoopBrochure2009.pdf. Last accessed 15 June 2010
OLAIJstijd (2010) Informatie voor ouders. www.olaijstijd.nl/ijstijd/info_ouders.html
Oudshoorn N, Pinch T (2005) Introduction: how users and non-users matter. In: Oudshoorn N, Pinch T (eds) How users matter. The co-construction of users and technology. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 1–28
Perri6 (2005) The personal information economy: trends and prospects for consumers. In: Lace S (ed) The glass consumer. Life in surveillance society. Policy Press, Bristol, pp 17–43
Pridmore J (2012) Consumer surveillance. In: Ball K, Haggerty KD, Lyon D (eds) Routledge handbook of surveillance studies. Routledge, New York, pp 321–329
Reintjes M (2009) Brands and games 2009: De cases. www.frankwatching.com/archive/2009/03/12/brands-and-games-2009-de-cases. Last accessed 12 September 2012
Rozendaal E, Buijzen M, Valkenburg P (2011) Children’s understanding of advertisers’ persuasive tactics. Int J Advertising 30(2):329–350
Steeves V (2006) It’s not child’s play: the online invasion of children’s privacy. Univ Ottawa Law Technol J 3(1):169–188
Steeves V (2007) The watched child: surveillance in three online playgrounds. International conference on the rights of the child. Wilson Lafleur, Montreal, pp 119–140
Valkenburg P (2002) Beeldschermkinderen. Theorieën over kind en media. Boom, Amsterdam
Acknowledgments
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC Grant no. 201853.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 © T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague, The Netherlands, and the author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sprenkels, I., van der Ploeg, I. (2014). Follow the Children! Advergames and the Enactment of Children’s Consumer Identity. In: van der Hof, S., van den Berg, B., Schermer, B. (eds) Minding Minors Wandering the Web: Regulating Online Child Safety. Information Technology and Law Series, vol 24. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-005-3_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-005-3_10
Published:
Publisher Name: T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague
Print ISBN: 978-94-6265-004-6
Online ISBN: 978-94-6265-005-3
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawLaw and Criminology (R0)