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Advertising affects teenage males in different ways

As a middle school student, Paul Calhoun devoured everything television advertising had to offer.  He sat perched on the edge of his couch, carefully jotting down the toll-free numbers at the end of each commercial.  Promises of great products and seemingly low prices captivated Calhoun.

“He was forever writing down 800 numbers from television so I could order products … ‘it’s only $19.95,’ he’d say,” said Calhoun’s mother, Jean Calhoun.  “I don’t think we ever did order, but he was certainly taken in by the concept.”

Today, an 18-year-old senior at Tomah High School in Tomah, Calhoun is a savvy consumer and is careful about trusting advertisements and buying products.  Jean Calhoun said her son still watches advertising on television, but does further research when he is interested in a product or service.

“It seems he and his friends hear about products and check them out online to draw their conclusions,” she said.

Parents as well as marketing professionals say that advertising has a great influence on teenage males, and that teens are especially concerned about image and peers, possibly making them more susceptible to advertising messages.  Today’s young males have to deal with advertising marketed toward them, including ads for alcohol, video games, and cell phones, among others.  They are influenced to buy products, dress a certain way, or change their appearance.  Teenage males also are presented with countless images of physically fit, stylish men in advertisements, which contribute to their perception of body image.

Teen males see a variety of ads during programs

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there are approximately 36.4 million youth ages 12 to 20 in the United States.  This includes 18.7 million males – an opportunity for advertisers that cannot be overlooked.

Teens watch channels such as MTV, the WB, Fox, Comedy Central, and VH-1.  Advertisers seek out these channels because the programs are geared toward their market, which consists of teens over 12 years of age and young adults in their 20s.  Calhoun said he and his friends watch Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, and MTV.

“When I’m with my friends, we typically watch Cartoon Network,” Calhoun said.

Common advertisements on these channels include products like alcohol, cars, clothing, music, DVDs, soda, video games and game systems, other electronics, and movie previews.  In one hour of watching television, Calhoun said, he saw three or four ads for cell phone service and Internet service. 

“During the holiday season, I’ve noticed an increase in toy and electronics ads, and cell phone ads have become more noticeable recently,” Calhoun said.

Advertising shapes teenagers

What a teenage male sees on television is likely to affect him in some way or another, according to Liz Carroll, consultant and owner of Carroll and Co., an agency working in marketing, advertising, and public relations in Madison. 

“Everyone is influenced by advertising, and teens are especially concerned about image and peers, perhaps making them more susceptible to advertising messages,” Carroll said.  “In advertising, we always try to make an emotional connection with our audience, and the reality is that teens experience emotions like insecurity, the need to become independent, and changing self images.”

Whether a teenage male is inspired to buy a product, style his hair differently, or begin working out four days a week, it all depends on the advertising and the individual teenager.  For example, Calhoun said he purchased an Xbox video game system partly because of an advertisement he saw on television, and partly to fit in with his peers.

Calhoun’s mother said she has noticed her son’s interest in Xbox as well as new Xbox games. 

“He does closely follow new Xbox releases and pretty much knows the stats on the game reviews prior to their actual release … that’s the one product that he does watch the ads for, and (he) is targeted (by the ads), and usually a successful hit,” she said.

Calhoun is not the only teenager to be influenced by advertising aimed at his age group.  A study by Teen Research Unlimited reported that teens spent $175 billion dollars on merchandise in 2003.  Teenage males are shown images of expensive cars and clothing that they may not be able to afford, in addition to alcoholic beverages that they are not old enough to legally drink.  Still, celebrity endorsers and advertisers work to sell alcoholic beverages try to appeal to teenagers.

Ads push alcohol at underage audience

Carroll has worked with the Miller Brewing Company, based in Milwaukee.

“I have worked with clients like Miller Brewing, and 18 to 24-year-old males is a typical demographic for beer,” Carroll said.  “I do think that teens are influenced by this advertising because they are so close in age to the 18 to 24-year-old market, and like to see themselves as older or more mature than they truly are.”

According to The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at Georgetown University, teenagers see two alcohol advertisements for every three ads that adults see.  Alcohol ads are prevalent on WB, UPN, Comedy Central, BET and VH-1 during programming that has a majority of underage viewers, according to CAMY officials. 

Specific programs include MADtv on Fox and Insomniac Music Theater on VH-1.  According to CAMY, advertisers spent $811.2 million on alcohol ads on television alone in 2001, giving teens plenty of opportunities to see advertisements for alcohol even though they are underage. 

Calhoun said when he sees ads that are obviously targeted toward teens, he pays more attention to the advertisement for entertainment value rather than the product itself.  Calhoun’s mother said she notices alcohol advertisements targeting teenagers, but she and her husband have determined how to guide their children when it comes to alcohol.

“There seems to be a curiosity about alcohol, however, we’ve always encouraged our kids to sample at home in company with us, and we have discouraged the need to ‘sneak’ to get it,” she said.  “Our thought is:  if it’s modeled responsibly, he will enjoy responsibly.”

Katarina House, a school psychologist at North High School in Eau Claire, said that according to North’s dress code, students are not allowed to wear clothing that advertises alcohol, such as a Jack Daniels T-shirt.  Another issue, however, is the students’ parents and their views on alcohol.

“Parents who are in their 40s … are OK with alcohol (advertising),” House said. 

House said it is difficult to curb students’ interest in alcohol when their parents don’t have any issues with alcohol use or its advertising.

North High School Counselor Kathy DeFlorian said teens are at a point in their lives when they are figuring who they are and what they want to be, vocationally and personally.  

“They are often looking at the world for ideas and role models,” DeFlorian said.  “Alcohol advertising usually includes 'cool' people having a great time … Drinking alcohol makes you feel good and you identify with the 'cool' looking group seen in the advertisements.” 

DeFlorian said the people teens see in alcohol ads are often the people they want to become.  She said that if teens drink, they think they will become those people, or at least look like them.

Males try to live up to an ideal

In addition to alcoholic beverages, there is another highly influential product that is constantly advertised to teenage males on television:  body image.  According to Joyce Sarat White, a licensed professional counselor, male teens often feel pressure to live up to the image portrayed by the media, in commercials as well as on television programs. 

“With pressure from peers and advertising, males are feeling some of the same unrealistic expectations women have felt for a long time,” White said.

White said research shows that up to one million males have eating disorders in the United States.  White leads a self-esteem building program and has a counseling practice called Weighty Issues in Yarmouth, Maine.

Although eating disorders are not as common among males as they are among females, the pressure to work out and stay in shape affects many teenage males.

Dusty Pfundheller, an 18-year-old senior at Altoona High School in Altoona, said he often feels pressure to stay in shape.

“I definitely feel like I should be in shape, and I bet a lot of that can be contributed to television and our whole society,” Pfundheller said.

In addition to the pressure for a physically fit body for image and appearance purposes, some teenage males recognize the health factors of staying in shape.

“I feel keeping in shape is important because it is vital to stay healthy, and helps prevent future health risks,” Calhoun said.  “I usually swim, bike, or hike for recreation.”

Advertisements that suggest physically fit body types frequently are for products related to exercise, such as weight training or exercise equipment. 

Teenage males know they are targeted but can resist

Although some advertising and marketing firms may hope to be somewhat less obvious with their advertisements targeting teens, some teenagers see through them.  Pfundheller said he recognizes when advertisers are trying to target his age group, and his gender as well.

“It’s pretty obvious to tell when an ad is targeted toward teenagers or males,” Pfundheller said.  “They use some action like skateboarding or weightlifting as well as sex appeal, and some ads for video games show all three.”

In addition to advertising for alcohol, video games, and exercise equipment, male teenagers are also targeted by advertisements for clothing, even though some males may not be as interested in fashion as the stereotypical female.

Pfundheller said he does not feel pressure to wear trendy clothing in general.  He said he likes to wear things that are out of style to get attention once in a while.  Pfundheller said jeans are the clothing product he usually does wear, despite the fact that he would prefer something like sweatpants for comfort.

Pfundheller said if he does dress similarly to his peers or what he sees on television, he dresses in similar style but he doesn’t buy the brands advertised.  

Bombarded with advertising, Pfundheller said he often ignores the product and looks for advertisements that entertain him.  He said he enjoys funny and interesting ads.

“I don’t like commercials, but if it’s good and it holds my attention, I’ll watch it,” Pfundheller said.

Calhoun said he uses entertaining advertising as a way to help him compare two companies rather than their products.

“If an ad appeals to me, I typically give more credit to the company and its product than one which sells the same product but has less interesting ads,” Calhoun said.

Despite advertising and the messages and pressures put upon teenage males, today’s youth can overcome advertising’s effects, DeFlorian said.

“I believe that if a teen has a strong sense of self he or she will not compromise his or her values to be cool or fit in,” DeFlorian said.  “A strong sense of self comes mostly from home and is supplemented with encouragement from school and peers.”