The use of program characters to promote products (host selling) was investigated in an experiment. Two variables were manipulated: 1) whether the commercial character was the same as or different than the program character and, 2) the position of the commercial relative to the program. The results revealed that young children, aged three to seven, could distinguish a host-selling commercial from programming. Additionally, the commercial's location relative to the program affected their ability to recognize the commercial. Finally, the children experienced greater positive attitude change toward the advertised product when they viewed a nonhost-selling as compared to a host-selling commercial.
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