I've been reading Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and recently read the chapter on advertising and kids -- creating a brand image and how corporations are now developing "craddle to grave" marketing strategies. In short, they want to get the kids -- and the younger the better. In Fast Food Nation, Schlosser states statistics that most American kids can recognize certain brand logos before they can even recognize their own name.
Quite coincidently, my husband had a run-in with brand identity just last night when he took the Little Princess grocery shopping with him. Despite the fact that we've never purchased Kool Aid brand drink mixes, and that my daughter has never seen a commercial for them, she was immediately drawn to them at the store and clamoring for them. We don't have a problem with the occasional treat, so my husband bought 4 of the packets. He was surprised that she knew what they were, and after having talked with her, we figured it out. Two children at her daycare would occasionally have "juice" (Little Princess' word) that looked like the Kool Aid packets. I believe that Kool Aid has a pouch drink, and it does have the same Kool Aid Pitcher mascot on it as the drink packets.
We don't have cable or satellite at our home, and the rabbit ears we have on the T.V. don't work so well -- so we almost never watch television. we instead get DVDs from the library to watch. But lately I've been getting more and more uncomfortable with the DVDs that my daughter picks out. They seem more like glorified commercials than truly original entertainment for kids, like animated films about the Bratz dolls, My Little Pony, Barbie . . .Even when the film is the point, there's now no end of toys and products that tie-in.
One of the most dangerous aspects of unrestrained capitalism is the idea that no matter how much is made, it's not enough. So corporations are finding more and more insidious ways to enter our lives. Some corporations are paying cash-strapped schools for advertising and product placement rights. While I can sympathize with the need for funds, this is a dangerous step in the direction of privatization. I really don't want my children to go to school at Coca Cola High. And the more that schools take these funds, the less that state governments will give to education, turning our system into one where kids are trained to consume the products of the highest bidder all day long.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
One of my favorite things that my kids say, is when the ice cream truck goes by, they say, "too much overhead!".
(I do let them buy from the ice cream truck sometimes, but usually we have something in the freezer that works just as well).
I've been trying to teach them that just because they hear that they "have to have" something, doesn't mean they really do.
Yes, Something I've tried to teach my kids as well.
I have noticed that the older they get and the more time they spend with other kids, the harder it is for them to resist the corporate lures - a great argument for homeschooling, but I'm not sure that homeschooling is the best option because I do believe that kids benefit from social interactions with their peers on a daily basis.
Excellent post. My kids and I frequently have talks about marketing... when they start talking about how they want something, we go over how it was somebody's job to make them want it. We don't have cable either, but they still pick it up....
Post a Comment