Scholastic's Suffocating Stereotypes

From Scholastic's Firefly Book Club, for pre-k and kindergarten children:


If you can't read the small type, here it is:

For girls, it's the "Perfectly Pink! Pack: Little princesses will love these five enchanting stories -- filled with everything PINK!"

For the boys, it's the "Power Pack: Keep active kids reading with five power-packed books about rockets, bulldozers, and more."

I guess if I want my daughter to be a good consumer I better tell her to put down that toy truck, stop being so active, and focus on being a little, enchanting, pink princess. And remind her that, in Scholastic's world,  it's the boys that have the power.

These suffocating stereotypes aren't, of course, unique to the kiddie marketers at Scholastic.  (Here's a fantastic word cloud breaking down the words used in  toy commercials aimed at boys and girls.)   But what's different is that Scholastic is using tax-payer funded time to peddle this junk to a captive audience of schoolchildren.  Remind me, again, why we let them do that. Read more!

Commercialism Corner

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

New from Skechers Entertainment - Skechers Entertainment, a division of footwear company Skechers USA, launches worldwide licensing campaign fueled by its kids show Zevo-3 (target of a CCFC FCC complaint) and upcoming direct-to-DVD animated movie Twinkle Toes (http://www.twinkletoesusa.com), based on Skechers girl-targeted footwear line. http://www.cynopsis.com/editions/kids/032211/

Cartoon Website Targets Kids and Network Execs – Toon Googles is a new cartoon website aimed at young children that “collects data surrounding viewer demographics, time spent watching and star ratings and shares this information for free with subscribers.” http://kidscreen.com/2011/03/18/cartoon-website-targets-kids-and-network-execs/

NASDPTS Cites Safety, Legal Concerns in Opposing School Bus Ads – The National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services renews its opposition to school bus advertising by issuing updated position statement. http://www.stnonline.com/home/latest-news/3202-nasdpts-cites-safety-legal-concerns-in-opposing-school-bus-ads. Visit CCFC’s School Bus Ad Action Center here: http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/actions/schoolbusads.html

Online Self-regulation May Not Satisfy Obama Administration – Senator Kerry, Senator McCain and President Obama are pushing for regulation to protect online privacy, despite advertisers’ attempts to dodge legislation with self-regulation. http://adage.com/article/digital/obama-online-advertising-regulation/149493/

Parents Face Challenges in Keeping Kids from Violent Video Games – This article explains why parents struggle to protect their children from the harmful effects of violent video games. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2011/mar/11/parents-face-challenges-in-keeping-kids-from-viole/news-breaking/

A Glossy Take on Disney – Disney will introduce new glossy magazines for kids based on Phineas and Ferb, Cars and other properties because, according to a Disney, “kids want them and moms will pay for them.” Ads will first be limited to Disney franchises, but the magazines will feature outside advertising eventually. http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/a-glossy-take-on-disney/

Meet the Doll That Teaches Your Daughter to Pluck and Shave – The Monster High doll Clawdeen, which has been criticized in recent weeks for being a prime example of “how marketing is further eroding female self-esteem before girls even hit puberty,” is the most popular fashion doll on Toys 'R' Us shelves, according to a corporate spokesperson, and also harmful to girls, according to parents, advocates and psychologists. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/meet-the-doll-that-teaches-your-daughter-to-pluck-and-shave/article1946181/

Read more!

Food Industry in Europe Engaging in Familiar PR on Marketing to Kids

I just returned from a 2-day meeting in Brussels. I was asked to participate with other experts from around the world (mostly from Europe) to address the problem of cross-border marketing of unhealthy food to children. In the age of satellite TV, the Internet, and other technologies, one country's standards may be insufficient to protect children from being exposed to junk food marketing. Because the meeting was not open to the general public, I cannot share all of what was discussed (the standards are still in draft form), but I can highlight a couple of presentations made to a larger group of "stakeholders."

Read more!

With Students Leading the Way, Toronto Says No To Video Ads in Schools

Great news! Last night, the Toronto District School Board rejected a proposal to install digital monitors in more than 70 area high schools. The monitors would have been used for news and school announcements and to showcase student projects. The catch? Thirty-percent of the air time – or two hours a day – would have been reserved for ads.

The proposal’s proponents claimed that the ads could earn the district up to $100,000 a year, but opponents of the plan passionately argued against selling their students to marketers. “It is shameful, absolutely shameful, that we are being forced to prostitute ourselves and sell access to the children in this system because we are an underfunded institution,” said trustee Sheila Cary-Meagher. “We’re here to educate our children, not to sell their souls.”

CCFC was alerted to the plan a few hours before the board meeting. We quickly notified our Toronto-area members, many of whom immediately contacted their board representative and urged them to vote against the ad plan.

But the best part of the story is that students played a big part in stopping the ads. The district’s student council opposed the plan, as did the two student representatives on school board. Student Trustee Zach Schwartz told the Toronto Sun, “I do not think it is the school board’s place to leverage students’ minds to the highest bidder. School has to be a learning environment first and foremost and should not be doing things that do not have a direct educational benefit.”

And while proponents of in-school marketing often ask “what’s the big deal?” since ads are everywhere, Student Trustee Jenny Williams reminded her fellow board members precisely why its so important to preserve schools as commercial-free zones: “Students are feeling as though they are going to be bombarded with advertising from various companies and that school will no longer be a 'safe zone' for them.”

So thank you, Toronto, for putting your students first and reminding all of us that, even in these stark economic times, advertising in schools is neither inevitable nor desirable. And for giving impassioned, articulate students like Zach and Jenny a role in shaping their own educational experience.
Read more!

Commercialism Corner

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

Disney Makes Nightmares Come True in Hospital Maternity Wards - This Yahoo! News article covers CCFC's action urging Disney to stop branding newborns literally at birth. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110210/bs_ac/7825750_disney_makes_nightmares_come_true_in_hospital_maternity_wards

In-app Purchases in iPad, iPhone, iPod Kids' Games Touch Off Parental Firestorm - Children, often unknowingly, are buying virtual goods from iTunes that cost their parents real money, sometimes lots. The author writes that many parents and public interest groups say that the marketing of these e-goods “doesn't have any business in a children's game.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/07/AR2011020706073.html

Disney Looking Into Cradle for Customers - Disney has gained access to maternity wards in hospitals and is marketing its new line, Disney Baby, through a company called Our365, a business that sells bedside baby pictures. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/business/media/07disney.html

Sex Sells: Teaching Kids Not to Buy - As sexualization of young girls in media and marketing intensifies, Diane Levin tells Fox Business what can be done to combat the commercial assault on children. http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/02/01/teaching-teens-modesty/

How Fast Food Companies “Super Size” African Americans - This Atlanta Post article examines “Race-based obesity” in America, calling attention to marketers history of marketing unhealthy food to minority communities. http://atlantapost.com/2011/01/31/how-fast-food-companies-%E2%80%9Csuper-size%E2%80%9D-african-americans/

Study Begins to Unlock the Development of Child Taste Preferences - New study suggests that “children with detailed mental representations of fast food and soda brands – as developed by advertising and experience – have higher scores on an ‘added flavour’ sugar/fat/salt (SFS) liking palate.” http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Science-Nutrition/Study-begins-to-unlock-the-development-of-child-taste-preferences/ Read more!