Para criança ver: o uso do product placement nos canais de YouTube brasileiros

Abstract

This study investigates the use of advertising strategies, namely product placement, on five Brazilian YouTube channels targeting children aged 6 to 12 years old. The research focuses on building a corpus of YouTube channels which, in terms of the number of subscribers, are among the most popular, such as: Luccas Neto, Maria Clara & JP, Valentina Pontes, Juliana Baltar, and Brancoala. Through a multiple case study, we seek to understand the impact that the strategies used on these channels may have on children's consumption habits. We also explored the ethical challenges that arise from the significant use of product placement for children. To this end, we analyzed the placement of brands in the five most popular videos on each of the selected channels, categorizing them according to Chacel and Patriota's (2010) classification as screen placement, script placement and plot placement. Additionally, a questionnaire was administered to 152 parents or guardians to measure primarily the influence these channels may have on their consumption habits. The results highlight an expressive incidence of product placement in the 25 videos selected, which, when converging with the high exposure of children to electronic devices, underscores the need for clearer and more effective regulation of this type of advertising approach targeting children.