|
Marketing-to-kids programs offer a wide spectrum of the good, the bad and the ugly. Here are my picks, along with a suggestion to level the playing field between children and business....
First, the picks:
The good: Pop-Tarts sponsoring the American Idol summer tour.
Granted, the American Idol Pop-Tarts were a bit over the top. But Pop-Tarts sponsoring the American Idols summer concert tour actually makes perfect sense. In other words, it's good, harmless fun… just like the Idol finalists themselves.
At the Idols concert near Boston last week, which I attended with my 9-year-old, giant foam-costumed Pop-Tarts roamed the crowd in the pre-show—cheesing it up, shaking hands, kissing babies, and the like. Neither the Idol pop stars nor the Pop-Tarts are ultimately very sustaining… they're both pure fluff. And (depending on your inclinations), pretty fun.
Here's the bad: Victorinox pushing My First Pocket Knife.
Thankfully, My First Pocket Knife has a can opener. You know, for when kids pop open their first beer.
(Thanks to Kathy Sierra of Creating Passionate Users.)
And finally, the truly ugly: Check out this article in ConsumerAffairs.com.
Where to start? Tom Glaister writes about the "other" child predators. Be very afraid:
- McDonald's, Burger King and Domino's pizza sponsor in-school reading projects with free meals. (Grow your brain, grow your girth—work toward My First Diabetes attack!)
- Nike sponsors school sports training by enthusiastic sports teachers, who are decked out in free Nike gear from head to foot.
- Companies hire ad space on school buses and screensavers on school computers. (Pepsi has one that encourages "a thirst for knowledge!")
Also, MarketingVOX, quoting a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which is concerned with the growing rates of childhood obesity, says that the vast majority of leading food brands that target kids via TV advertising also set their sights on them online.
The details: Some 85 percent of those food brands use branded Web sites intended to attract children. Most include games for kids and encourage them to contact their peers about products. In fact—almost two-thirds (64 percent) of sites in the study use viral marketing, with children encouraged to send emails to their friends about a product, or invite them to visit the company's Web site.
Which makes me wonder… do our kids, impressionable at they are, stand any chance of making sense of any of this—whether good, bad, or ugly?
So finally, here’s what I propose: Can we level the playing field? How about sponsored in-school media and cultural literacy programs, to help kids think critically about the messages they’re receiving? Is there a corporation who will step up to that plate?
Probably not. Which is too bad. Because in my view, it seems only fair.
Technorati tags: marketing to kids cultural literacy
|
Comments
Excellent post, Ann. Agree with your proposal of getting a co. to step up to the plate. The way it's best accomplished? Through a GROUP of companies stepping up to the plate and initiating ethical guidelines, much like the TV-ratings group (that established a taxonomy of kid-friendly rating criteria)...and then having a channel for consumers to write/e-mail those co's that aren't on the "better-marketing bandwagon". This would encourage (read: force!) better practices.
The co.'s that initiate the programs? Best marketing program they could hope to implement! We consumers hold a special place in our hearts (read: wallets) for champions of such efforts.
Posted by: CK | 07.20.06
There have been concerns going on over this for a while. I remember watching an HBO documentary on this very topic waaaaay back in 1991, back when TV ads were a thing of concern. If anything, it's only gotten worse.
The question is, how effective would it be to train the kids against advertising? Obviously the advertisers are way ahead of us.
I think Pop Tarts sponsoring the Idol tour is tres appropo, since most of the Idols are exactly that. (Pop tarts.)
Posted by: J.D. | 07.20.06
I'm a "cause marketer" working primarily with non-profits.
Obviously these findings are important in substance to nutrition advocates.
But there are important "technique" lessons here as well for all non-profits who seek to engage their constituencies via the web. Say what you will about their message, you've got to acknowledge the smart online engagement techniques employed by candy and snack food merchants ... tactics not limited in their effectiveness to kids ... or snacks!
Posted by: tom belford | 07.20.06
I've been following advertising to kids for awhile now because I have a 9-year old boy.
He's online all the time. We have discussions -- all the time -- about what kinds of sites he should be visiting, what is advertising and what is not, giving out personal info, etc.
Some of the advertising really impresses me. Legos, for example, lets kids download a free piece of software that lets them design things. But I'm not impressed by sites like Post Cereals that lure him in with games.
As with anything, you have to pay attention -- and know what your child is doing online and how he/she is being marketed to.
Posted by: Dianna Huff | 07.21.06
CK: Intriguing idea. I'd love to see that developed.
JD: Exactly. Pop-Tarts. BTW, have you seen the Idols concert? Would seem like a fitting end to all your coverage all season long.
Tom: No doubt the programs are effective. I have a 9-year-old who will finish watching a show and immediately ask, "Can I go on SillyRabbit.com?" (The General Mills breakfast cereal)...which leads me to...
Dianna: Absolutely. Parents have to pay attention. Caroline already knows about Internet safety, spam, and "opting out." She does get Internet safety/technology in school, but I'd love to see some sort of media literacy program as well.
Posted by: Ann Handley | 07.21.06