http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14415766/But TV is just the beginning.
Linn: Pepsi and Coke, they both say that they do not market to children, I think under the age of 12. And there is a Pepsi car for kids as young as four.
Stone Phillips, Dateline anchor: Yeah, age four and up. (reading toy box)
Food is turned into toys — or attached to toys — or just squirts out like a toy like the latest ketchup bottles.
Phillips:
The food plate and the toy shelf are starting to look a lot alike?
Linn: It's a
merger, yes.
And then there's the Internet.
A growing number of popular online gaming sites are owned or sponsored by the food industry.
Lauren, panelist: The Nabisco site. My little brother's 13 and could live on that Web site. Like you just play. And it's like all the different snack foods are all fun games.
Children spend hours on these sites, exposed to what critics slam as
stealth advertising, slipping past parents to reach the kids.
Linn: And, you know, what the industry does that is so distressing is that they really
prey on parents' best intentions.
Like encouraging kids to read, or learn math.
Linn: (Holding up a Cheerios book) And if you look at the cover, the cover looks just like a box of cereal. The M&Ms book looks just like a box of M&Ms.
Companies say it helps kids learn. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But critics argue companies actually make a concerted effort not to help parents, but pit kids against parents.
Linn: In 1998, this company called Western Media International did a study on nagging. It was not a study to help parents cope with nagging. It was a study to help corporations help children nag more effectively.
Phillips: How many of you have heard the term
nag factor? Or
pester power? These are
actual marketing terms, for targeting children with advertising.Ken Robinson, father: Now I will break down quicker than my wife. So what happens, they’d rather ride or hang with me.
Kenbria Robinson: Yeah.
Ken Robinson: I'm guilty.
And many parents say the ultimate battleground is
point-of-sale. Beware: the gauntlet of the cereal aisle!
There are a lot of familiar faces on cereal boxes: Shrek, Nemo, Batman, Dora, Woody from Toy Story, Barbie, SpongeBob Square Pants.
Madison Avenue calls them
spokescharacters. Their licensing has become an enormous business.
...
Linn: It's easy to blame parents. It's not a level playing field. I mean how can one family take on, a ten to 12 billion dollar industry that's food marketing to kids? How can they do it?
The Picking Game: Kids & Brand Recognition
