The journal Psychology and Marketing reveals that from the age of three, children are able to recognize and distinguish different brands that they have seen or that are a part of their everyday life.
Whether it was a chain of fast food restaurants, cake, toys or a supermarket, researchers found that 39% of children aged 3 to 5 easily recognized different consumer brands to which they had been or are exposed.
Chair of the Childhood Obesity Foundation, Dr. Tom Warshawski, says "Children who believe in the Easter Bunny will also swallow the line that happiness comes in a soft drink can. It is time for policy makers to seriously study whether allowing marketers full access to naive, trusting children is in society’s best interest."
Study authors say there is no doubt that brands play an important role in self image, and at a younger age than might have been expected.
Another troubling finding emerged from this study. Researchers found that 3-year olds were judging each other on what they wore or the toys they played with.