Publicidade de consumo dirigida ao público infantil : regulamentação estatal e ação comunitária.

Abstract

The study in focus addresses the regulation of the consumer publicity directed to the children’s audience in the context of consumer society and consumerism, resulting from the anchored capitalism in artificially created needs, whose service are sophisticated techniques to induct the consumer to purchase products and services. In Brazil, the performance of the publicity agencies isn’t submitted to significant legal limitations, existing only timid forms of self-regulation of the market. In light of the debate on the excesses of publicity, it reaches to answer the following question: is the Brazilian legislation of children and adolescent’s protection enough to restrain the abusive publicity? The method of approach is the hypothetic-deductive. The method of procedure is the critic-historical and the technique of research is the bibliographic. The investigation reveals that children’s audience suffers different negative impacts that come from publicity, as the stimulus to excessive consume of products and services and obesity. The advertisers, in a general way, adopt techniques that prioritize the stimulus to consume to the detriment of social values. The consult to the constitutional legislation and non-constitutional, in special the Code of Defense of the Consumer and the Children and Adolescent’s Statute, indicates that Brazilian legislation is insufficient to restrain abusive advertising aimed at children and adolescents, because, rewrite, associated to the lack of structure and people in the supervisory agencies, specially the Public Ministry, it turns impracticable a coercive and effective response. That is why, the CONANDA edited the Resolution n° 163/2014 prohibiting all advertising and marketing communication aimed at children and adolescents, which generated opposition from the representatives of the media and business entities, claiming that any limitation on advertising is of exclusive competence of the National Congress. Taking as parameter, the publicity regulation directed to children’s audience in some countries around the North America and Europe verifies that there are rigorous guidelines, including the creation of an agency with the specific objective of supervision and with police power. These examples indicate that it is necessary a regulation act of the State, in the sense of developing public policies to guarantee the well-being of children's consumers, but also point to the act of civil society for conscious consumption is indispensable. Under the focus of basic theory, Amitai Etzioni's responsive communitarism, the market forces should not prevail over the social values of the community, which is why complementary actions are needed, reason why complementary acts from the state and social agents are needed. The good society intentioned by the communitarians requires adequate public policies, popular participation and formation of values in favor of a conscious consumption. Facing the insufficient self-regulation of the Brazilian Market, it justifies the Resolution of CONANDA to the children and adolescents protection, but the conscious consume will only be result from the involvement of civil society as a whole.