Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Be an Informed Consumer
Are you an advertising target? Yes, you are. Advertisers send TV ads at you at home and in some schools. They sponsor banner ads that you see when you're surfing the Internet, and billboard ads that you see as you walk down the street. They put brand logos on your clothes and shoes, and they pay to get their products used in the movies you watch. The average 12-year-old watches TV for four hours each day. That adds up to between 20,000 and 40,000 TV ads a year!
Kids are consumers, too. According to a Consumer Reports survey, you and other U.S. kids have $15 billion of your own money to spend each year. What's more, you influence what your parents spend - as much as $188 billion per year!
Sometimes people buy products they don't need because ads for them make people think the products will make their lives better. You buy advertised items because you want to look better, feel better, and fit in better. Advertising is a huge factor in consumer demand. Advertising is used to create consumer demand for a particular product.
Advertising affects prices, too. Many companies hire celebrity endorsers to try to get you to buy their products. If your favorite athlete or celebrity is in the advertisement, you might think that you will have the athletic ability or be as popular as your hero is if you buy their product. Companies pay celebrities and athletes lots of money to advertise their products. This adds to the cost of the product, so companies raise their prices in order to make a profit. Advertising is a "hidden cost" that adds to the price of a product.
