GoodWork Paper 40: Marketing to Children: Industry Insiders? Perspectives on Good Work

Author(s): Amy Henry

Editor(s): Jeff Solomon, Series Editor

Media: Paper

Description: In this paper, I present qualitative research conducted among leaders of the children‘s marketing industry. The purpose of the study is to understand why they do not defend their industry and their work in the face of harsh criticism from the press and from anti-advertising activist groups. I provide evidence that children‘s marketers are committed to producing work that is highly creative and ethically beyond challenge, but that they are not committed to their industry. I show how their ability to engage in extremely satisfying work in an industry without a true mission has left them feeling ambivalent about their careers. I also model how children‘s marketers construct meaning for their industry and compare it to the way other professionals do. Based on this model, I discuss implications for the future of the industry.