On the Edge

Nowadays preschoolers don’t get the regular blocks,  trucks, posters, dolls, or even worksheets. Most of their materials have an advertisement on them, children marketing expert James U. McNeal estimates that U.S. households with preschool children spend more than $100 billion a year. Vice presidents from schools, have found that the amount of corporate-sponsored programs that come and visit their schools have increased. Some of the corporations come from major food companies to conduct taste test of their new products, for the young students. Every year, teachers seem to find more business-sponsors workbooks, posters, book covers, contests and field-trips. Many schools are already banning vending machines because their concern on childhood obesity. Marketer Kurnit think that materials advertised to preschoolers, help create good parental goodwill not the kids. Following that Nickelodeon magazines recognized the value of good parental skills, the designer for the magazine added “it’s easier to reach preschool parents.” Cooperations like the Pizza Hut reading program claims that they just want kids to have a motivation to read, and Connie Fontaine Ford’s manger of associations and alliances sent posters to schools, not to advertise their new car, but because they believe that safety is important. The Milton Bradley’s Worksheets, as well as the Care Bear curriculum, were made not to advertise, but to help kids help have fun with learning materials and to help teachers do their jobs, claimed Joel J. Ehrlich. Some teachers don’t buy the corporate pitch. Like Kathy Wilson, she discards anything that looks like a corporate is trying to advertise, while she tries to teach preschoolers. Some teachers with low fund, think that the company’s motive is not important.

A study showed that kids prefer food in McDonald’s wrappers. Dr. Tom Robinson said kids taste were “physically altered by the branding.” Children so young are already beginning to be influenced to advertisements. The experiment concluding that kids were being influenced by the advertisement, involved 63 low-income children ages 3 to 5 from Head Start centers in San Mateo, Calif. 2 out of 63 children studied said they’d never eaten McDonald’s and around one-third ate there at least weekly, and most of the kids knew the McDonald’s logo. The study included McDonald’s menu from fries, nuggets, and burgers, and a store-bought milk or juice and carrots. Each kid got two identical samples of each food on a tray, one in a McDonald’s wrappers and cup, or one with unmarked packaging. The kids were asked which they preferred, it was obvious that every child liked the food that was labeled McDonald. 77 percent liked the fries labeled McDonald, and 13 percent preferred the others. 54 percent preferred McDonald’s wrapped carrots where as the plain-wrapped carrots, were only 23 percent. The hamburgers were pretty even, 29 kids choosing McDonald’s-wrapped burgers and 22 percent choosing the plain-packaged. Fewer than one-fourth of the children said both samples of all the food tasted the same. Many people argue that it’s McDonald’s fault for this, but many others argue it might be the parents because it is their responsibility to control what their kids eat.

Today media has control on young people around 12 through 18. Advertisers use many techniques such as psychology, marketing, building brand names, buzz, and using adult content to make kids buy what they sell. Psychology gained public attention in 1999. With the help of a researcher and a psychologist advertisers can go into the mind of a child more in-depth. They can find out what children think and dream about, and use this in their advertising.
Another marketing strategy is building a brand name loyalty. At first the companies moves their manufacturing operations to countries with cheap, labor and get the rest of the money to create a powerful marketing message. Marketer’s first start selling their brand to young children then hopefully the children will grow into a lifetime relation with the brand. It was discovered in the Center for a New American Dream that babies as young as six months of age can form mental images of corporate logos or mascots. Loyalty to a brand can start at the age of two, and by the time the toddler is a child he or she can recognize hundreds of brand logos.
Buzz or Stealth Marketing is another strategy to boost up popularity. What they do is find the coolest kids in a community and have them use or wear their product to create a buzz. The buzz can also be used on the internet, where they use newsgroups, chat rooms and blogs to spread the word of their product.
In the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) they revealed that some music and video games actually market violent entertainment to young children. FTC found that 44 films rated R-rated were 80 percent targeted on children from under 17. TV commercials run during long hours, through the time children are most likely to be watching. The One studio’s plan for and R-rated film is quoted, “Our goal was to find the elusive teen target audience, and make sure that everyone between the ages of 12 and 18 was exposed to the film.” Mature toys, Teen-rated video games and more are advertised in youth magazines. Music containing “explicit-content” is targeted on what most teens depend on, television, and radio, in print, and online. Children as young as four are targeted to these M-rated or R-rated film.

The site Neopets.com is a website created to advertise children of all ages. This website advertise many brands and products like General Mills, Mcdonalds, Limited Too, ect. The world of Neopia has many places to explore, games to play and cute creatures to take care of, this is what they use to hook kids on the site. Immersive advertising is used in this site. It is when company’s name and products are mixed into the entertainment. In Neopets the immersive advertising is in the games. I think immersive adertising is not good for kids, because they get persuaded easily. But if it means gaining alot of money immersive advertising is very persuasive, and a child can easily see, ask, and get what they want, then the money would all go to the bussiness.

At Islamabad, Pakistan on sunday November 4th, Pakistanis discovered a new government, based on censorship. Overnight the PEMRA was ordered to ban the medias that were against President Pervez Musharrat, his administrator or the military. Anyone who violates the order can be put to jail for a year or pay a fine of 5 million rupee ($83,000). Many were put to jail such as a dozen judges for refusing to take an oath to the new laws. Following that human rights activists, lawyers and pro-democracy, agitators were put under house arrest claimed news reporters. It is also said that phone lines, black berries PDAs, and internet were cut off. Even though media is cut, many people like Talat Hussien, head of Aaj Televison continue to protest. Pakistani journalists continue to keep broadcasting the news to this nation of 160 million. Those other foreign government who hear it, criticize the move towards autocratic move.

In North Korea, leader Kim Jong II son of King Sung II has created a government based on propaganda and censorship. For fifty-five years Koreans have grown up to believe that he is the “greatest leader,” but in reality he is just a dictator, who is brain-washing young children that he has super-natural powers. Most Koreans are loyal to him because of his hatred of Americas, and being the son of Kim Jong II the great leader, who died years before he took over. People living in North Korea, have limited amount of power. Many rules have been put into place, like they are not allowed to look at foreigners in the eye or only chosen ones can talk to them. Everyone in North Korea has to talk good things about Kim Jong II, because they are being watched, and if they don’t they will be punished. The hotels where Koreans stay are bugged everywhere including the trashcan, but only a few people are staying there. 50,000 Korean children have to prepare a special event for Kim Jong II; using torches they practice a dance for six hours a day, till October. Koreans lives are being severely controlled, and their lives are in danger.