Commercialism Corner

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

Bribes: How Food Corporations Keep Opponents Quiet – Marion Nestle exposes how corporations buy advocacy groups’ silence.  This time Save the Children stopped advocating in favor of soda taxes after accepting millions from Pepsi and seeking more from Coke. http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2010/12/bribes-how-food-corporations-keep-opponents-quiet/68210/

How Toy Crazes Are Born - This Wall Street Journal article explains how marketers exploit kids' natural developmental tendencies to whip up collectible toy frenzies. http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/news/2010/12/howtoycrazes.html


Mint.com Hits The Books; Offers Personal Finance Curriculum To Students – Scholastic’s newest in-school advertising partner, Mint.com, is “a free, online program designed to educate middle-school students about personal finance and financial management.”  At http://www.scholastic.com/mint/ teachers can print lesson plans around sponsored videos like “Quest for Credit” and schoolchildren can play games like “Quest for Money.” http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/20/mint-com-hits-the-books-offers-personal-finance-curriculum-to-students/

Coca-Cola Infiltrates Teen Social Network WeeWorld – Coke takes over the social network for teens with a Coke Party Room, Coke video game, Coke virtual products and integrated billboards.  The site is supposedly for teens 13+, but the advertising for Build-a-Bear suggests a younger target audience. http://mashable.com/2010/12/17/coca-cola-infiltrates-teen-social-network-weeworld/

Not So Happy Meals – This New York Times editorial expresses support for efforts to curb fast food marketing to children. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/opinion/20mon4.html 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.

Has Scholastic Books Outstayed Its Welcome in American Schools? As CCFC launches a new way for parents, teachers and advocates to voice concern over Scholastic's commercialization of classrooms, this author says it's about time schools ditch the company altogether. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20101214/bs_ac/7404678_has_scholastic_books_outstayed_its_welcome_in_american_schools 

Los Angeles Schools Seek Sponsors - Josh Golin tells the New York Times why the Los Angeles decision to allow advertising on school campuses is a mistake. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/education/16naming.html

Class Action Lawsuit Targets McDonald's Use of Toys to Market to Children – A concerned mother and Center for Science in the Public Interest sue McDonald’s for unfairly using toys to market unhealthy food to children. http://cspinet.org/new/201012151.html

Sexualized Teen Girls: Tinsel Town's New Target – The Parents Television Council released a new report finding the hypersexualization of teen girls in popular broadcast TV shows among 12-17 year olds. http://www.parentstv.org/FemaleSexualization/Study.htm

Cartoon Network and Kids Foot Locker Team Up – The kids’ network will host its first Cartoon Network Hall of Game Awards, sponsored by Kids Foot Locker, in which the sneaker company will sponsor a voting category and a “Kids Foot Locker micros site,” (www.hallofgame.com/sneakers) which will advertise its sneakers and offer kids discount coupons.  Pepperidge Farm and Sports Illustrated Kids will also sponsor the awards show. http://www.cynopsis.com/editions/kids/121610/
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Commercialism Corner

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

A Whole New Name Game – Naming rights are up for sale at public parks, schools and government buildings across the country, as advocacy groups try to combat the idea that corporate marketers are the answer to every budget gap.  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703350104575652763782808830.html?mod=WSJ_business_LeftSecondHighlights

How About Reassessing First Amendment “Right” to Market Junk Foods? Food guru Marion Nestle discusses the First Amendment, commercial speech, and ending junk food marketing. http://www.foodpolitics.com/2010/12/how-about-reassessing-first-amendment-right-to-market-junk-foods/


Study: School Vending Machines Undermine Student Nutrition – A new study finds that school vending machines contribute to bad eating and poor nutrition among school children. It also finds that vending machines in 83% of schools sold foods with minimal nutritional value. http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/food/diet-nutrition/2010-12-02-school-vending-machines_N.htm

Canadian Dietitians Want Better Controls on Food Advertising to Kids – A leading group of Canadian dietitians has issued a position statement requesting better government controls over the advertising of food and beverages to kids. http://www.marketingmag.ca/english/news/marketer/article.jsp?content=20101207_093840_7184

David Cameron Orders Review into Sexualised Products for Children – The UK Prime Minister has launched an independent investigation into the sexualisation of childhood, and whether regulations should be imposed on retailers and broadcasters preventing them from marketing sexualized products to children. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/dec/06/david-cameron-review-sexualised-products-children

Junk-food Giant Targeting Kids – (Australia) Fast-food outlets directing mailing coupons to children under 12 are catching heat from Australian public health organizations, which are rallying the federal government to ban the exploitive marketing practice. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/junk-food-giant-targeting-kids/story-e6frezz0-1225965696378 Read more!

Happy Meal Makeover: How a Healthy Food Coalition Defeated a Fast Food Icon

On election day, while most of the nation was distracted with the mid-term election, another vote was taking place in San Francisco City Hall. The Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance to place limits—based on specific nutrition criteria—on how toys are marketed by restaurants in the city and county of San Francisco.

Most media accounts got the story wrong. The Los Angeles Times for example, called it a “Happy Meal ban.” (It’s true that, according to McDonald’s, none of the current Happy Meals meet the criteria, but that’s fixable.) The real story is, how did McDonald’s—the nation’s most beloved fast food brand—get so beat up?

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Commercialism Corner

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

Some Preschool Kids Get Double Dose of Screen Time – Another study published in October shows that many preschools show hours of television to young children. Study author Dr. Pooja Tandon says that while there are some positives to educational programming for preschoolers, "Studies have found that the more screen time a young child is exposed to, the more they're at risk for a range of problems including language delays, learning issues, obesity, even aggression, possibly sleep problems.” http://www.king5.com/health/childrens-healthlink/Preschool-kids-get-a-double-dose-of-screen-time-at-home-and-child-care-106729463.html

Report: Fast-Food Chains Increase Targeting Our Kids - Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity releases the "most comprehensive study of fast-food nutrition and marketing ever conducted,” finding that marketers have increased their child-targeted advertising: preschoolers see 21% more fast food ads and older children 34% more than in 2003. The study also finds that of 3,039 possible kids’ meals, only 12 meet nutritional criteria for preschoolers (15 for older children). Teens 13-17 purchase 800-1,100 calories in an average fast food meal—about half of their recommended daily calories. And a single meal at most fast-food restaurants contains at least half of young people’s recommended daily allowance of sodium. 40% of children aged 2-11 ask their parents to go to McDonald's at least once a week and 15% of preschoolers ask to go every day. Another troubling finding: fast food restaurants target minority children up to 50% more than white children. http://www.aolnews.com/health/article/report-fast-food-chains-increase-targeting-of-kids/19706296

Fast Food Restaurants Not Fighting Child Obesity – CBS Evening News with Katie Couric on the Yale study that finds that fast food restaurants are contributing to childhood obesity (despite claims to the opposite). CCFC’s Allen Kanner says, "The industry has been promising for years that it would do something about this…Self regulation is a trick, it's a farce, it's a joke." http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/08/eveningnews/main7035550.shtml

Unplug, Turn Off and Reconnect – Referencing our friends at TRUCE, a Newburyport, MA Reverend makes a plea to parents: “This holiday season, take a careful look at your children's wish lists and consider how your toy and game purchases can help our kids build peace in our communities and beyond.” http://www.newburyportnews.com/local/x1507935544/Unplug-turn-off-and-reconnect

Disney Junior to Focus on Social Values - Disney's new channel will focus less on an educational curriculum and more on teaching social values and behavior. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/05/business/media/05disney.html

The Turf War for Tots – In a battle to captures preschoolers, “one of the most important demographics in television,” Disney is rehashing Disney Junior. The article covers Disney’s marketing plan and includes some troubling stats and quotes, including: “The sale of toys, books and DVDs for Nick Jr.'s ‘Dora the Explorer’ has generated more than $11 billion in sales globally since 2002, Nickelodeon says. The value of future brand loyalty is incalculable,” and “For Disney, preschool is an entry point to the entire brand—from DVDs, theme parks and plush toys to Pixar movies and older-skewing Disney Channel series like ‘The Wizards of Waverly Place.’” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704462704575590231467452448.html
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