Targeting violent content toward children has been a very successful ploy from multiple media ventures in raising profits. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), a professional wrestling organization, has been very successful in marketing its professional wrestling products and merchandise to a younger audience. As a result, sales in action figures and video games have increased dramatically. The WWE have even activated a "WWE Kids" website designed for children 6 to 10 years old. The children are good at persuading parents to buy WWE DVDs and tickets to live events. The Association for Consumer Research has reported multiple studies that show parents' buying behavior can be strongly influenced by a child's assertions.
Violent films and television shows traditionally have been very beneficial to Hollywood and its production companies. Violent films such as "Lethal Weapon" and "Die Hard" have become multimillion dollar franchises that have spawned multiple sequels as well as merchandising revenue and they draw large ratings when shown on TV. Shows such as "24" have followed suit. While G- or PG-rated films have traditionally brought in more overall revenue (USA Today reported G-rated films make more than 8 times the revenue of R-rated films), violent content appeals more to the 18-34 demographic that is frequently more appealing to advertisers. However, producers will sometimes prefer a PG-13 rating so they can appeal to the 18-34 demo and still bring in teenagers as well. The fourth "Die Hard" film, entitled "Live Free or Die Hard" in the United States, was re-edited from an R rating to a PG-13 for this purpose. The film grossed more than $130 million domestically in theaters.
"Sex sells" is an old expression that is cliched due to the inherent truth to it. Violence has similar sales potential in that violent content tends to generate a large amount of advertising revenue. One of the biggest challenges in advertising is getting an audience's attention. Violent ads, or products that associate themselves with violent content such as TV shows or films, attract attention easier and faster than more conventional fare. That's why many companies pay to have their products used by characters in violent programming.