July 20, 2026

TV Commercials Run in the Family


TV Commercials Run in the Family
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An annual analysis of the top 1000 most popular Russian TV commercials revealed that those showing families with three or more children are on the rise.

In 2023, only 9% of commercials featuring children showed families with more than three kids. In 2025, the share was 20%.

Why are larger families becoming more common in advertisements?

According to Nadezhda Yachmeneva, deputy dean of the Institute of Social Sciences at RANEPA, such commercials give the impression of a “bustling, vibrant, and happy family.” If a sincere and loving family puts their trust in a product or service, then maybe it could provide the same experience for a new customer.

​Commercials featuring families with three or more children also reinforce Russian government efforts to combat a falling population by encouraging families to have more children. Although a trivial commercial for a “mega family” phone plan is unlikely to factor into a family’s decision about how many kids to have, it nonetheless suggests that families with many children are well within social norms (and supported by standard phone plans).

While in 2025 families accounted for just 25% of the subjects in commercials, increased portrayals of large families as rooted in "traditional values" is a significant change.

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