Mar
24
For Those Of You Who Hate Marketing
I hate my job today.
OK, that’s not entirely true. I hate my profession. My job still kicks ass. Maybe we could change this blog into a blog about my love of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup. I could give classes about it and write ebooks about it and speak at SOBCon about it. Seminars! E-courses! Live conferences! Free soup for all!
Yes. Perhaps that would be better.
Where We Stop Talking About Yummy and Delicious Soup and Start Talking About My Total Disillusionment
My son is gifted. It would be very polite for me to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this, and that I’d spent years responding to “he’s so smart!” with, “Oh, no! There’s no way he’s as clever as your Kayla! [or Austin or Ava or Ethan].” But no, it did not surprise me and yes, he is more advanced than most kids and yes, it is a colossal pain in my ass.
He is demanding and bored and desperate for something that allows him to use his brain. He is especially begging for something he can do by himself. Usually, the only way we can make something interesting for him is to do it with him and ratchet up the difficulty. After three and a half years, though, he’s sick of the sight of me and just wants to go play by himself.
Enter JumpStart.
We bought him a video game from a company called JumpStart. It was still not advanced enough for him, but it was better than anything else we’d found. He didn’t love it, but he liked it well enough.
It should be noted here that Jack does not independently read yet. He can click “OK” and he can piece together “stop” and “shop” and “truck” and, naturally, “fuck”, but he doesn’t sit down with a sippy cup full of soy milk and crack open Crime and Punishment just yet.
Anyway, so here he is, playing his game which is put on our computer via a CD or DVD or something and is in no way connected to the internet. He is done, so he exits. Lo and behold, he is sent to the JumpStart website. They want him to sign up for something.
Given what I do, I am in no rush for my three-year-old to be on anybody’s mailing list. I click away and let him manhandle my Twitter account for a while.
We repeat this little dance 15 or so times in a few weeks. Today, a couple of things occur to me. One, not all mailing lists are run by dirtbags. Two, I really, really want him to stop asking me what the page is for.
I check it out, and it seems harmless enough. We sign up, and are invited to a free, much more advanced online version of the game. Well holy Jesus, I am one happy mama. More advanced? And online, so he can never, ever lose or scratch the CD? Sign my white ass up.
I am visibly excited. I help him create his profile. I lead him to the word monkeys. I show him how to play matching games with ducks. I walk five feet away to put the kettle on, and I hear:
“This part of JumpStart World is locked. Ask your parent to become a member today.”
In the top left corner of the screen is a giant animated key with “Become a member” underneath. I ignore it, hoping to God it’s just some specialty content and I can investigate it later while he’s not breathless beside me, and I go back to my tea making.
Again.
Again.
Again.
At one point, I’m pretty sure it said something like, “Ask your parent to become a member today and you can get cool new games, more toys, and you can play for as long as you want.”
Now he’s looking at me really hopefully because in his short life, he has not been denied much. That which he has been denied has usually involved wheat or dairy and I always make sure to have an infinitely more exciting substitute on hand.
So I do what any mother would do. I give a big, dramatic sigh and click through to find out the details.
Owning the game costs $149.
Sure, you can buy monthly access to the game for $7.99 a month. You can buy a year’s worth of access for $79. But to own it, like keep-it-forever-‘cause-it’s-yours, a hundred and fifty smackeroos.
This game targets children who are PRELITERATE.
This game targets children who believe that, as an adult, the narrator is an authority figure.
This game, by way of its narrator, repeatedly, pleasantly and firmly instructs my son WHO IS STILL IN DIAPERS, “Ask your parents to become a member.”
Not “buy a membership”. “Become a member.”
I have a 10-year-old, too. I understand that companies who market to children are an unavoidable pain in the ass. I understand the need to have the newest, latest, greatest. But when an ad comes on TV, there is a separation between the invitation and the possibility. At least there’s time before you get to Wal-Mart. And when you DO get to Wal-Mart, physical cash changes hands. A child can understand that this is not simply manna from heaven but something you have to pay for.
This disgusts me.
But I disgust me more, because I bought it. I dumped the tea down the drain, and with it my self-respect, opened a bottle of wine instead, and bought a $150 game for my kid because I couldn’t bear him finding out that the nice narrator man was effectively lying to him.
This is what it looks like when the bad guys win.
I want to spearhead a social media hate bombing campaign to make sure this post outranks JumpStart in Google for their own fucking business name. (They’re @jumpstart_erin on Twitter, if you’re in the mood to get feisty.)
I want to holler that we, the people, will not be duped.
I want to scream that I will never succumb.
But I don’t have it today. Today I’m just going to cry a little bit and dream of the day I can run away and hide and paint big pink butterflies on bigger, pinker canvases and forget this whole unpleasantness ever happened. Today, I am totally embarrassed by my line of work.
For those of you who hate marketing, I don’t blame you. Some days I hate it too.
Directing marketing to children absolutely SUCKS.
Because they are yet to completely comprehend money and why, sometimes, parents say “no” to something they see as perfectly reasonable.
Virtually all websites aimed at children have a “more exclusive/higher benefits” members only section. So the child will constantly meet with “become a member today” messages when they try to enjoy the site in its full.
Wait until you reach primary school and enjoy the absolute joy that is Book Club. Brochures direct marketing to children. And of course, it’s books… so what parent could legitimately say no without feeling like scum?
What an eloquent description of something that really is an evil blighting family life. These companies do need to be shamed.
First off, good luck with the gifted child. My oldest (now the ripe old age of 7) is gifted and we have our daily power struggles. She’s smart, she knows it, and she thinks that entitles her to anything and everything. It’s such a joy and by joy I mean “Thank god she’s not handicapped but could you pass the duct tape please?”
Marketing to children works. Get the kids hooked and many parents cave. IMO, it’s best the kids learn early on that nice man on the compie screen is lying, rather than being duped into believing less-than-honest sales pitches.
This is an interesting pickle. How do you market to parents for internet-based activities for children without being sleazy?
@Bee makes a great point. As a parent, I got to say direct marketing to kids blows. The path Naomi describes is unctuous, but also as Naomi points out highly effective. (I’m not saying it’s right, just effective.) How should start-ups handle preteen membership (paid or free)? Or are memberships for youngsters off the table?
How do you market to the child?
Er… you don’t.
You market to the parent.
Unless you’re an ass.
If the “free” offer was really a bait and switch, and you get enough people complaining, make a complaint to either the FTC or Canadian Competition Bureau about misleading advertising.
If you don’t know how to do that, drop me a line and I can help you out.
Hey N,
Yeah, been “working through” this for a number of years now with my daughter, who’s 8 going on hacker. It’s a tough one.
A couple of years back, a free online world called Millsberg was really popular. I was impressed at how much they were giving away. A pretty rich experience for free. Then, I noticed something…cartoon product placement. Various foodstuffs appeared in the virtual world. So, did a little poking around and discovered the world was owned by General Mills and all the products were theirs.
I was really conflicted, because they were providing value, my daughter really enjoyed it (for the 16.42 days before she moved on) and even though they never tried to upsell a paid version, they were upselling the parent company’s product via product placement and association with the joy that was Millsberg. Ick…cool…then back to ick.
Then came club penguin and a variety of other worlds and, like you mentioned, what bugs me about some of them is not that they ask for money to “unlock” to sweet stuff,” I’m okay paying for value.
But they speak to the kids in a manner that implies the thing standing between them becoming a virtual demi-God and sitting in front of a “You’re locked out” screen…is their parents’ whim, not the hard work it takes for their parents to make the money to pay for deeper access.
When my daughter was younger, too young to really get money, we’d just say no. But, that didn’t last long, especially when her friends’ parents were saying yes. So, we justified the spend as having “educational benefit.” And, ya know, it did. Still the way it went down would leave me feeling just a little dirty.
Now, my daughter’s old enough to understand money and how it comes from work and has value. So, we can sit down and reveal what’s really going on when the unlock screens come up and make a decision together about whether it’s worth it. And, often she’ll be required to contribute. But, man, I don’t know what the answer is at Jack’s age.
I totally get that companies have a right to bring something of value to the market. And, to speak to the end-user who, in this case, is the kids. But, it’d be nicer if, rather than trying to drive a wedge between parent and kid if the world isn’t unlocked, attempts to access the locked doors triggered emails TO THE PARENTS that said there was a lot more cool stuff their kid’s been trying to access, then explained the value and the price, without constantly prompting the kids to push the parents and presenting the offer in a way that makes a parent seem unreasonable for not ponying up.
Does that mean we don’t have to still make tough decisions and be ‘sponsible adults? No, we do. It just means the process could be a whole lot more respectful to those who control the purse strings.
“8 going on hacker.” That’s a perfect description of my daughter, who is just this week asking me if she can join the paid membership version of her current favorite online game, Poptropica.
We’ve already had the discussions about why she should choose a Poptropica password that’s NOT the same as her username, why she should never give her password to ANYONE, and why she can’t “invite her friends” by email or other methods to join her. And her daily “screen time,” which includes TV and computer, is limited. (Good-mom points! I get good-mom points!)
Poptropica was on a school-approved list of “educational” (or at least non-commercial) websites, so it skeezes me out that now they’re offering a paid membership. If we do decide to let her join, she knows she’ll be paying for it out of her allowance.
But even though it’s not much money ($2.99/month, I think), and I’ve told her that she’s allowed to spend her allowance as she wishes, and she likes the free version of Poptropica (and I’ve played it with her and it appears innocuous, even if it’s not exactly “educational” to someone like my Genius Daughter)…even though all that, I’m still somehow bothered, somehow reluctant, as if letting her join a paid online membership site is the first step in a slippery slope to some kind of internet damnation.
So I’m still not decided. And her 5-year-old brother is right behind her (he also enjoys Starfall.com, hat tip to Andrea_R). So I know this is Just The Beginning of navigating the online world with gifted kids.
Naomi, I feel for you. I’m going to see if there are other school-approved (of course take with as many grains of salt as you need!) websites for K-level (I’m sure Jack is beyond the “preschool” stuff). And you definitely get good-mom points for taking Jack’s curiosity and education seriously.
Send Jack over to starfall.com for a while. :)
Also, my 9 year old occasionally goes on the Webkinz site. Now there’s a place to give you the willies.
I was going to mention Webkinz if it hadn’t already come up.
People will give my kids a Webkinz toy, and they think it’s some great thing because, “The code on the tag lets you play online!” They don’t realize that it lets you play online for one month. And during that time the kid dresses up her “pet”, tricks out her room, feeds her, grooms her, teaches her tricks, and then … nothing. She needs to buy another Webkinz to get another code to keep playing for another month.
But now she’s got two pets, and they can play together and visit each other’s rooms. And if she plays the online games long enough she can get points to buy more clothes and toys. And the more stuff she has, the more she has invested in that world.
It really sucks. And it’s really effective.
But Naomi, I agree with the other parents who are teaching the kids about making choices. No, a 3-year-old won’t understand a salary, but they do understand, “You can have this or that, but not both.”
I also think it sucks that you have to teach your child so young that the narrator lies. But I call it “pretending”. My kids understand that nothing on TV is real, and that goes double for the computer. They see the same person on “Drake and Josh” and then on “iCarly”, and they understand what it means to be an actor.
So I tell them, “Whenever you see a commercial and they want you to buy something, that’s an actor. When they say how good it is, they’re reading a script. They could say the sky is purple, that doesn’t make it true.” I’m trying to hold off on the conversation about “real world” authority figures, and how you can’t trust them either.
Go to the webkinz site and play some of the games. Like Cash Cow. (I swear, I did not make that up.)
almost as much fun as the Monopoly Jr games with the debit machines.
Yes. Avoid Webkinz. Do not become like the many, many rabid parents that would scream at the retail store employees (which I used to be) because they didn’t have a certain animal – if the store had any left at all. Webkinz will steal your soul.
…or at least, it was like that three years ago. I imagine things have expanded a bit, especially since I’m not a parent and don’t keep up with it.
Marketing towards kids is horrible for two reasons: it’s unethical and it works. Watched a documentary once about advertising that supposedly speaks to parents buying for kids, but targets “tweens” as that’s the “magical age” for marketers. Nothing is really geared towards adults these days, the money is all in the kids.
I used to tell myself that I would go into marketing to change the world. Now I’m happy with the idea that at least I’ve got limits and ethics.
I hate Webkinz. A lot.
People who market to kids get a special place in hell, right next to Dick Cheney (it’s still under construction).
Wow… that’s a little crazy! I guess I see things from “when I was a kid” because back then everything was on diskettes… And we could had the whole game, not some locked and upgradable version.
I can definitely see the exploitation of kids by getting at their parents. It’s one of those fine lines that reallllly doesn’t feel good when it’s crossed. I mean, how can they justify that kind of wording and how it can affect the parent-child bond? Yeesh…
Now that you talk about it, it’s effective marketing. If you want to target high school kids who need tutoring, you’d go to the parents because most kids don’t really care anyway. But it gets so touchy when it comes down to children. And I agree with you Naomi, I don’t think it’s the right thing to do!
I don’t have kids, but I hate bad marketing.
Ugh. Retweeted. Man.
Same here.
My wife and I were talking about this at breakfast. Beyond the online experience, we’re both bothered by the insidious McDonalds ads on PBS Kids (immediately after Sesame Street). While it upholds PBS Kids guideline to “not market food products to children” and “children will never see an image of a food product” (Dec 2009 http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BE2RZ20091215), it’s a unholy pairing and pierces the wall of a place we perceive(d) as a kid sanctuary.
It’s bizarre how much marketing can infiltrate into the home these days. That kind of tactic is a little bit “euurrghhoowhh” (sounds better when I say it…I think).
I like Drew’s ideas about explaining advertising as acting to a child. It’s a much nicer way than being stared at blankly, with a shake of the head followed by a guffaw…which is how my dad used to deal with my toy requests. Love ya dad. :-)
God, I loathe this kind of crap! I’ve worked for years to train my kids to be savvy about advertising/marketing, but often it’s about as effective as sending a soldier onto the battlefield armored in tupperware lids and duct tape.
I can’t tell you what kind of revulsion and nausea came up reading about that. I know about it, but reading your experience with it.
Something else to bring up as a negative case study in our workshop tomorrow…
Been there. Fucking hate it.
My kiddo’s 5, and can zoom around the net better than my teen. She can read small words, navigate sites and clicks around here and there to get exactly what she wants, even switching between five different games on five different browser tabs.
And we hit this stupid fucking lockdown ALL THE TIME.
Littlest Pet Shop? I hate you, motherfuckers. (Had to buy the TOY to get the hidden CODE to come online to the website to play and STILL got locked out of portions. Disney’s Tinkerbell? I hate you too, assholes.
And when my daughter turns to me with that disappointed “oh no!” look on her face, she says, in a tone of voice that sounds like ‘please tell me it’s not true’…
“They’re trying to get money from us, aren’t they…”
“Yes. Yes, they are, honey. It’s very uncool.”
“I wish I could play there…”
“I know honey. I wish you could too. But they just want our money and don’t care about us.”
What’s my kid learning? Not that LPS or Disney is way cool. She’s learning that companies don’t CARE about us.
At five.
Take that, you sons of bitches. Remember us when she hits the age where she can buy products herself. Because she won’t be buying yours.
That’s a good one, “They don’t like you, they just want your money.” Except … damn, this parenting is hard … won’t that raise a kid with the kind of money issues Naomi was just writing about? It’s teaching your kids that there’s something wrong with wanting people’s money.
That’s great when it’s teaching them not to give up the money, but bites you in the ass when they’re adults and think it’s dirty to ask for the sale.
Yeah, I know the difference is these slime are trying to get money from kids, but the kids won’t get that.
I’m nowhere close to having kids (yet), but I don’t like that kinda future for them. Argh…
I used to write about Campbell’s Soup every day. Eventually you’d hate that, too. Trust me. :)
Ooo.. This kind of crap drives me nuts.
Our oldest daughter, who is 5, is smarter than the average bear too. She’s smart enough to know when we get erked at something like this and she usually asks why we’re annoyed. I try my best to explain the marketing aspect of it and why things are good or bad (as much as you can to a 5 year old).
My greatest fear is the mindset that this kind of behavior creates in the kids 10-15 years from now.
Very disturbing.
Ugh! Dirty marketing, that!
My kids enjoyed JumpStart when they were little–before the internet rocked. I’d send you all the old floppies if there was still a way to access the damn things in modern computers!
BTW…the gifted thing will get your blood boiling when Jack goes to school. Too advanced for regular classwork but not a good idea to skip ahead and be immersed w/older kids. (esp. by middle/high school!) Teachers swamped w/large classrooms and not enough time to up the challenge level for every assignment. By high school, he’ll have tough advanced classes to keep busy. ;-)
Good luck!
Our oldest (now 7) is pretty smart too, and also very independent and stubborn. She hates being told what to do. When she started watching TV, I used this to my advantage. I started training her that commercials were trying to be her boss. I made a game of it. If she saw something on TV, and it made her want something then she was letting the commercial be her boss. The ad told her to want something, and she listened. She would proudly say to me, “They tried to make me want that doll, but they’re not my boss!” Or if she asked for something after seeing it on TV, I would say, do you want that because your new boss told you to want it? This was the best I could come up with. I hate people trying to manipulate my kid. It’s an ongoing struggle.
Toy stores show commercials for high-demand toys before Christmas that they know they won’t stock until AFTER Christmas. Kids naturally see the commercials and ask, “Can we get that toy?” Parents obviously say something to the extent, “Sure, if you’re good, we’ll get it.”
Later they go to the toy store, see that the highd-demand toy is not there(or either purposfully understocked), and settle for another toy as to not leave empty handed.
At Christmas, the kids open the boxes, see that it’s not the toy they really wanted and parents are disappointed, primising to get the toy they really wanted soon.
Toy stores know that January and February are the slowest months, so they magically stock the shelves with these high-demand toys at that time, and the parents get them then.
Rinse, repeat.
Bastards.
Regards,
Shane
Where’d you hear that story? ;-)
I want to say it’s from Malcolm Gladwell’s book, ‘Blink’, but I can’t say for sure. Memory’s fusssssy…
Influence by Cialdini. Great read.
I agree 100%. It’s a sticky situation, too, because many marketers would read this and say, “So what? It worked.”
And when you refuse to use tactics like these in your own marketing, you wind up in a situation where you have the integrity but “they” have the money. Because it DOES work.
I have never been able to come to peace with this. Maybe I never will.
I think the only peace (and I’m only there some days) is to realize/decide that you’d rather hang out with your “right people”. I want clients who respect me, and who I respect in turn. I can’t attract them by marketing unethically.
So yeah, they have the money and you have the integrity, but you also get to spend your hours with people you enjoy, instead of feeling contempt for.
Thats a great post, thanks for writing it. I’ve bookmarked your website and will look forward to reading more!
Take 2 – first edition crashed – grrr ;)
After reading this http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/work/kids-and-advertising-mommy-thats-my-bestest-brand/article1486067/
and then testing my four year old I was shocked. We’re very careful with TV – PBS and CBC only for ads…
Then watching the Corporation (segment shown here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi63rXnuWbw) and listening about the Nag Factor Report… very angry.
NAG FACTOR. Of all things!
I believe that we should adopt a ban on advertising/marketing to children under the age of 13 similar as they do in the UK (if not more stringent) – see basic info here…
http://www.ppu.org.uk/chidren/advertising_toys_eu.html
I don’t believe that most children have the mental processing ability to know what is truth and what is selling. It’s pure sleaze in my opinion.
As I learn more about marketing, I can see the tactics coming on, especially if I’ve been cornered. What troubles me is that some marketers are making it hard for people to say “no.” These guys see know as resistance and consider the word a start.
Agreed. That’s skeezy. I don’t have kids, but I was sitting in my favorite hippie coffee shop when a group of five (it must be said) hippies came in. Crunchy as all get-out. Before I knew it, I had made eye contact with the youngest, a six year old with hair down to his elbows. He promptly climbed my lap and sat down at my computer like a pro. He went straight to that penguin site and within five minutes was alternately begging me and his parents for the cash to get to further along in planet penguin…I felt bad for him, but worse for his parents, who clearly weren’t sure what this whole thing was about.
It really sucked.
All that said, how can they market this stuff ethically? Someone here suggested marketing to parents, but how could they do that in a way that really worked?
Reading and agreeing–also have two things to pass along that may be useful to those of you with gifted kids. First, I’m co-editor of and contributor to a book published by Free Spirit Publishing called “High IQ Kids: Collected Information, Insights, and Personal Stories from the Experts” — sure, I’d love it if you bought the book, but at least as important is the list of resources in it, and Free Spirit has *lots* of excellent books that will help teachers, parents, and others who care for/raise/teach gifted kids. Second, my profoundly gifted son is now grown up and doing well (yeah, *horrible* school stories, but we found alternatives)–and he (and his friends) are incredibly aware of marketing and how they are being “pitched” and have strong opinions (which you’d agree with, methinks) about what works, what’s okay, and what will convince them to never EVER buy from vendor X…and of course the confidence, ability, & willingness to spread that message farther and faster than my generation would ever imagine. To paraphrase a song from my younger days, the kids are gonna be all right.
Dude! This is a biiiiig problem. I was listening to KPFK (beyond NPR– no corp advertising) During their fund drive they were giving away CONSUMING KIDS– a doc about how marketing companies target kids unmercifully. Unfortunately I don’t think the DVD is public–only for educational institutions. Anyway, the DVD is about how marketing peeps have done all sorts of research on kids to a ridiculous degree, even infants. They have determined that babies recognize brand symbols as early as 6 mos and they talk about “owning parts of the brain for life” by getting into the minds of children– in terms of brand loyalty. Jumpstart is just the tip of the iceberg. But, everything comes around. As soon as this info is widespread and parents lash out at them, they will change their ways because the almighty dollar always has the final say.
I was able to watch “Consuming Kids” on YouTube, I believe. I am at work and can’t access YouTube from here but am pretty sure that’s where I saw it. However, it was broken up into smaller chunks. Very worthwhile documentary! After I watched it, I had my son sit down and watch it too. He is nearly 12 now and we had a great talk afterwards.
I’m glad my son loves his $15 trikey and his basketball and hasn’t discovered computers or the internet yet.
Cause when he does, hooo boy…
Marketing to children really pisses me off. It’s just so wrong, on so many levels. I don’t blame you for being angry.
Oh James, you are so much stronger than I am. I am weak, weak, weak when it comes to marketing and especially marketing that promises me a little time to write on my blog while my 7 yo plays Runescape, which inevitably results in mass amounts of begging for me to buy him money he can use in the game.
Naomi, I feel you. I’m not nearly as riled up, but I feel you.
Thanks for making me more aware of some of the marketing my kids are exposed to regularly so I can be more conscious with the learning opportunities they provide.
…heavy sigh. It sucks having to lie to kids. I lie about Santa, Larry the Leprechaun and the Tooth Fairy. I started early telling them that everything they see on T.V. and on websites isn’t as great as it’s made out to be. Okay, some stuff is good. But do you want to deal with everything on a case by case basis and never get to that cup of tea? So I say, “The stuff on there costs a lot of money and it breaks.” The other day I over heard the 11 yr old telling the 7 yr old, “Oh, that’s just marketing. It’s not real.” And then they pull out the sketch books and the markers.
Naomi,
I can’t throw in a story about my child, she’s being born on Monday (is there a word for being sort of insanely excited, scared witless, and vaguely nauseous with anticipation all at once?), but I can imagine caving to this kind of marketing, to protect her from the ugly truth that the narrator is actually a prick.
But don’t beat yourself up about it; you’re the potty-mouthed superhero of the marketing world, teaching your loyal fans how to not be like those bastards, and to find their own authentic voice (and to make a fuckton of money by being themselves). Buy yourself a cape!
Marketing to kids sucks. It’s immoral and imho ought to be illegal. We don’t do screens in our house, and a huge part of the reason is the marketing aspect. My son is 10 now, but when he was a wee one, every trip to Target would end in tears because even if we didn’t go down the toy aisle, there would be loads of bright, shiny objects around every corner.
I got tired of being the bad guy all the time for saying no.
So somewhere between 3 and 4, we had a little chat about marketing. And about how there were people whose jobs it was to make stuff look really cool so you’d want to buy it.
And how sometimes, maybe even a lot of times, the thing wasn’t really so cool after all. (He’d had enough experience with McDonald’s toys that this concept was fairly familiar!)
I told him I knew it made him sad not to get all the toys he saw in the store, and that it made me sad when we went shopping together and ended up fighting.
Then we started getting into the tricks they play on kids. Like making things look bigger on the box. Or making it look like the thing moves by itself and shoots rockets…
It helped a lot back then, and it’s really paid off now that he’s spending his own money on toys. He looks very carefully to see exactly what’s included, and what’s ‘sold separately,’ etc.
He’ll even say, “They’re just trying to trick us into buying that…” and takes great pride in being smart enough not to fall for it.
So Naomi, sweetheart… Of course you’re pissed, but let’s face it, who better to help him spot the tricks the scumbags use?
In fact, I smell a JV project: Tired of toy-store tantrums? Marketing 101 for Parents shows you exactly what the scumbag marketers are doing to get your kids to bug the crap out of you because they MUST HAVE THIS THING RIGHT NOW! When you help your kids deconstruct the advertising they see, you boost their immunity to the “YOU MUST HAVE THIS NOW” message, help them grow into savvy consumers and save yourself some gray hairs in the process.
Or something like that… ;)
I feel a blog post coming on and will definitely rant against the evil JumpStart empire at every opportunity.
Um…I was marketed to as a kid. “Hey, Mikey! He likes it!” We didn’t have the internets then so it was just as sleazy, or was it?
My 6 year old, also a whipper snapper in his own right, always hits on those Nickolodean games that cost money to play. “Can I play?”
Me: “No, it costs money and we have 1000 games here that don’t cost us money. So either find a game online that is free or play one of these old school board games.”
He finds the free online stuff…..
I don’t judge anyone who actually buys the games. That is totally a personal choice. But, I’ve learned if I buy one (or give in once) the whining and nagging go on and on and on and on. Having a bright kid you need to realize he *never forgets.* So if I cave in on a day I’m tired or distracted, the next day there is an all out plan of attack to wear mom down and get what he wants. So. Exhausting.
Soooo, I do my level best to be painfully consistent. It’s hard. I say “no” a lot and hear “You NEVER get me ANYTHING!” more than I would like. I”m trying to get use to this because in a few years I will say “no” a lot and hear, “You NEVER let me stay out all night!” and “Everybody else gets to go to Bob’s beach house for the weekend, and YOU SUCK!” Yeah…..can’t wait.
Reality is, marketing exists and we are ALL bombarded with those messages from infancy, really. (Baby Einstein, anyone?) Best we teach kids in an age appropriate way what marketing is (those folks just want us to buy their stuff, but we need to decide if it really is what we want), how to make informed decisions (do you want this game or a trip to the amusement park, because I can buy one, but not both).
There is pouting and frustration (and the kid gets pissed off, too), but, hey, it’s all part of the wild ride of parenting!
And people wonder why their customers find it hard to trust them!
Enough said. Off to carpet bomb some sleazebags. And enjoy it.
Oh I detest these sites! I have been pulled into MANY of these… as a parent with a struggling child (or children) I am apparently an easy target because I want to see my children glow with pride at finally “getting” something that their peers and the gifted kids take for granted — reading, math… whatever, just SOMETHING that gives them a sense that they are able to learn these essentials.
And what have they learned out of it? That they have to pester their mother to join things, get things, order more… ARGH!!!
It makes it hard to trust that they have any interest in HELPING kids learn or helping parents help kids gain new skills or whatever their claims!
On a similar but unrelated note, I used to do promo modeling (aka handing out plastic shit to guys at restaurants and bars) as a side gig, and was stunned at how many of my coworkers would hand out free shit to children. And then they’d be totally stunned when I tried and failed to explain why it’s not exactly ethical to give Miller Lite keychains to 8 year olds.
The corporate marketers know no bounds.
They’ll take a turd and try to make you believe that it’s a unicorn that craps out gold coins.
Many internet marketers are the same. And if there’s people there in a medium or on a site, they’ll try to take it over with some kind of promotion or advertising, even if they aren’t wanted there, and efforts are made to exclude them (think Craigslist)
I too have children who are pretty smart. Youngest is 12.
He now analyses advertisements, and picks up on all the marketing tricks and tactics that are used in promotions.
A couple of years ago I talked to him about Persuasion methods, and now he’s savvier than most adults.
If you haven’t read Robert Cialdini’s book “Influence – the principles of persuasion”, do yourself a favour and beg, borrow or buy a copy.
I reckon it should be compulsory reading for all consumers.
cheers,
Eric G.
SOUP LOVELINESS: Heat up a packet of frozen vol-au-vents and let them cool. When you are ready to munch, fill them with Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom straight from the tin. Don’t mention the ingredients and the recipients will think you are the Amuse Bouche Fairy. ;o)
Yes, it’s sleazy to market dirctly to kids, especially expensive stuff like this. On the other hand, it could be an opportunity to teach kids about money and value. “would you rather play with ExtortMoneyFromMyMom.com for only one week or get that new millenium falcon Lego set you’ve been asking for, which you can play with as long as you like? Yeah, I don’t think that website is worth that much either, they are really silly to think it’s as good as Star Wars legos…”
I forgot to mention I also run a kids/parenting website and have a section with loads of great FREE sites for kids, all of which I’ve checked first and those that carry too many flashing ads, inappropriate ads or those marketing to kids don’t get included. Obviously sites change over time, but I try to check regularly and although I’ve been approached by marketing firms many times – I’m not interested in making money the ‘wrong’ way.
I recently removed Nickjnr.com because they were showing Forex Trading Ads and encouraging kids to join a site aimed at over 13s!! (the avatars and situations were way too sexy for me) which was subscription based.
Naomi,
Though I know it’s contrarian, I’m with Susan on this one. My Kid’s 11 now, just come through all this business. Still i it, really—she loves Webkinz and Pokemon online and god-knows-what-else. We have two rules: if they ask for money, just do the free parts, and if they want to sign me up for newsletters of any kind without an option to turn it off, No.
I once had to bar her from a site that had ads geared at grownups though it claimed to be a kids’ site. Other than that, it’s always been—after we play it together for a while and I see it is age appropriate, go for it.
Marketing is part of life. I never bothered to ask Mom for sugar cereals because I knew the rule was No. The Kid has never asked me for upgrades to any of her online stuff, because she knows the rule is No.
I once overheard her comment to a fellow bus-mate, “those pay parts of the site are for people too goofy to realize there’s a zillion free things to do on the Internet, and we paid for the toys that got us there anyway.”
Okay, I know she’s just parroting me, but at least she parrots the wiser stuff. :)
Hope this helps (?).
Regards,
Kelly
Naomi, for $149 that game should teach Jack to read at an 8th grade level; give him proficiency in basic math; and potty train him!
this is no joke: last night my 6 year old cool angel boy comes into my office and says: “If you shop at WalMart you live better.”
Jaw drop.
Fucking TV/babysitter.
“Mama, have we ever been to a WalMart?”
“No.we.have.not.” (well, we were, once. in New Mexico. but he doesn’t need to know that.)
it’s everywhere.
It took all I had to NOT say, “They’re out to get you kiddo. TRUST NO ONE.”
Instead we talked about plastic crap vs. nice things made by people who care. It’s a start.
I loved this post yesterday, only seeing the amazing comments today and find them UTTERLY ENLIGHTENING. As a kid-free broad who works fairly 1-on-1 with adults, none of this comes into my day, but it’s so serious!
Back “in my day” toys + electricity were separate, TV was stories, and ads were things we revised and parodied for entertainment. I knew it was all marketing, and I resist authority, so even as a major consumer, I know when I’m being swayed and can admire it sometimes.
My only niece is at a Waldorf school: no screens, no reading even, until age 9 I think. It’s scary, but their studies say she’ll be advanced when she does get to screens. But still, with the grocery, the radio, clothing, toys… the marketing doesn’t stop.
I don’t know how you guys do it, hat’s off to the toughest, most important title-holders ever: you concerned parents. THANK YOU for building a better future for all of us with YOUR KIDS.
(A terrific post, as usual.)
~GirlPie
This is tough, and it does suck. Being a mom of a 7 year old and a 4 year old, I too am constantly bombarded by marketing to my kids that nevers stops, websites full of landmines, and neverending school fundraisers where we’re constantly asked to hawk cheap crap to everyone we know in order to raise money for the school. I’m all for raising money for schools, and selling something is certainly better than the trend in recent years to just teach kids to panhandle by standing on street corners with collection jars (I HATE that), but something’s gotta give. After the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Scholastic Book Club order forms come home, I just say flat out “No, we just ordered books. No more.”
We taught our 7 year old a couple years ago that everything she sees on commercials is really a big company trying to sell her something she doesn’t need. But she still wants it. It’s tough, and I don’t like always saying no, but I do it anyway. And we’re definitely turning the TV off more, playing outside and going to the library as much as possible.
This kind of marketing to children is VILE, isn’t it? I have nothing to add to the screenfuls and screenfuls of wisdom above, but … sympathy. (And yet another little wave of gratitude for CBeebies.) I can just hear the calm repetition of the instruction to “ask your parent…” – ugh, ugh, ugh.
I have not been particularly restrained with the Oyster: he’s known for years (he’s five now) that I don’t trust what ads are saying, and he’s even pointed out examples of overstatement, etc., himself. I think of it as media education – all the more important now that we live in The Future.
Too weird. I’d already commented on this post, before taking my kids to Mickey D’s for lunch. (Some days you just have to.) My kids are 11 and 7. We were just saying how we don’t really like McDonalds food and this really nice employee came over and presented my kids with the whole damn toy display thing. They were switching to the next hot toy selection. All three of us looked at him and we were shocked. It was a nice gesture on his part. I don’t think he was trying to make us lifetime customers or anything. But, the funny part was, after we thanked him profusely, he walked away and my kids were rolling their eyes. My son will probably use it for target practice.
Great article. It makes me angry as a mom and a human being that these supposedly educational products for kids are arranged to completely subvert that parent child relationship in order make the producers a buck. JumpStart, shame on you. You suck.
At least your hair looks great!
Hmmm. My mum used to use the line ‘what part of “NO” do you not understand?’
And – ‘go play with your dad’s power tools.’
It sucks when people marketing to your kids make you look like a villain for saying no, but in the long run, it’s ok.
At the risk of sounding cheesy, I remember the time my parents spent reading to me more than the toys they said no to.
Yup, this is one of the things that makes Poptropica so fantastic.
The new quest is going to be arriving really soon in Poptropica. Can’t wait to check it out.
People who aim their marketing at kids should be locked in a room with 53 two-year-olds asking “why???” continuously until they repent of their sins.
Ha :-) Yes…what I hate even more are the games and toys you can buy that regularly prompt you to go online to get more features. My kids have a video game, some talking frog toy, and a camera…all which require you to install software on your computer in order to hook the gadget up to the internet, just so you can see advanced features, all designed to sell you more shit. So even when you buy stuff, they still underhandedly lock you into more spam. It’s not marketing btw…it’s spam.
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