Baby, It's You

A survey of youth marketers, PR and advertising professionals found that, while respondents say children are "unable to make intelligent choices as consumers" until nearly 12 years old, it's OK to market to seven year olds. Just over 60 percent of those surveyed say advertising targets children at too young an age, but others feel "educational purposes" and brand loyalty justify targeting three year olds. The president of The Wonder Group, a youth-marketing agency, said: "When we do research, the parents want the child to know about the product... As a marketer do you really care that the consumer is getting exactly the message you want or can recognize the brand? They point to Tony the Tiger."