the Sugar Conspiracy

Tuesday, June 03, 2003

Get 'em while they're young

The Washington Post reports on a growing trend of corporate-sponsored field trips, where classrooms of impressionable young children are taken, not to the zoo or a museum, but to Petco, The Sports Authority or Toys R Us.

Now I know all about Channel One's vile tactics and the exclusive contracts school boards establish with Coke and Pepsi. And I understand that schools are facing budget crises (a whole other rant . . .), but the public school system is supposed to be a place of learning about the world, not learning about the newest product release of a kid-friendly corporation. Kids' buying power is the most sought-after source of money in the advertising business and what this does is give companies yet another avenue to reach that income. This is nothing more than school-sponsored "branding", the process of inculucating a brand into consumers' consciousness. Kids need to be kids. They don't need to be branded by corporations whose only goal is to create the next generation of consumers. But like the article says,

"That's where the kids are," said Tom Harris, vice president of sales and marketing for the National Theatre for Children, whose productions bring corporate-sponsored messages into elementary and middle schools. "It's a captive audience and in a world of where kids are torn between the Internet, IM [instant messaging], sports, TV and radio, school is the place where marketers can find them in an uncluttered environment."

posted by chris at 10:27 PM
------------------

Blog - Info - Archive - Contact - Links
2005 © Designed by Chris. Take what you want.