Commercialism Corner

Commercialism Corner: Your one-stop shop for quick summaries and links to all the latest news about the commercialization of childhood.

FCC Probes Complaint That Cartoon Advertises Skechers Shoes - After only a week, the FCC opens an investigation into CCFC's petition that the upcoming Nicktoons show "Zevo-3" is one long Skechers ad. http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/news/2010/09/fccprobes.html

Schools Seek Extra Cash Through Campus Ads – This Associated Press article addresses how school districts around the country are attempting to close budget gaps by entertaining or enacting the sale of advertising space in schools. CCFC’s Josh Golin and Parents for Ethical Marketing’s Lisa Ray explain why selling students out to corporate marketers is a bad solution. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/sep/19/schools-seek-extra-cash-through-campus-ads/

On the Web, Children Face Intensive Tracking - A Wall Street Journal investigation into online privacy has found that popular children's websites install more tracking technologies on personal computers than do the top websites aimed at adults. Nickelodeon sites make up a chunk of the 50 most popular children’s sites and were found to install a disturbing number of tracking cookies on users’ computers. The author writes, “Parents hoping to let their kids use the Internet, while protecting them from snooping, are in a bind.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703904304575497903523187146.html

Understanding the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act – This WSJ blog summarizes COPPA and reviews calls to revamp the Act to define behavioral tracking as online data and to extend the law to protect teenagers. http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/09/17/understanding-the-childrens-online-privacy-protection-act/

Study to Reveal How Consumers Feel about In-store Media – Automated Media Services, the company behind 3GTv—a network of mini-televisions airing ads that it hopes to install on grocery shelves all over the country—will be conducting in-store customer research coinciding with its pilot launch in Food Lion’s Bloom supermarkets in the DC area this fall. Over 1300 CCFC members who do not want to run a gauntlet of screens with their families while food shopping have already told Food Lion to pull the plug on 3GTv. http://www.mediabuyerplanner.com/entry/54788/study-to-reveal-how-consumers-feel-about-in-store-media/

US Department of Energy and The Advertising Council Launch Disney-created Energy Conservation PSAs – Public service announcements (PSA’s) created by Disney and starring the licensed character Tinker Bell are supposed to encourage kids’ energy conservation. Not so coincidentally, the announcements/advertisements coincide with the release of Disney’s Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue movie on DVD and Blu-ray. www.energy.gov/kids