Advertising is a powerful force in American culture. It exists to sell products and services. In 1750 BC the Code of Hammurabi made it a crime, punishable by death, to sell anything to a child without first obtaining a power of attorney. Additional exposures include advertisements on the radio, in print media, on public transportation, and billboards.
Advertisers generally use two approaches to sell their products.
The traditional method places commercials in programs that are attractive to children. These commercials promote products unrelated to the program being shown. The second approach, begun in 1982, features toy action figures as the main characters of a program. Even though the FCC has enforced this guideline, it appears that it is too narrow and should address all program-length commercials. In addition, the Children's Television Act established the Children's Television Endowment Fund to encourage the development of new educational programming for children.