Should Kids’ Cartoons Sell Fruit & Veggies? Brandwashing Revisited

Sept. 16, 2009 Erma Bombeck once said, “My children refuse to eat anything that hasn’t danced on TV.” Quick! Mind snap: Did you blink to California Raisins boogieing to “Heard it Through the Grapevine?” If so, you’ve been ‘brandwashed’ by that award-winning iconic campaign from FCB so long ago… Next week on Sept. 21, two familiar icons and two slogans will be voted into … [Read more...]

Back to School Supplies: Which Retailers Make the Green Grade?

Sept. 6, 2009 You’ve all seen that Staples ad with the prancing papa gleefully sending his offspring back to school, right? Well, now it’s time to see if Staples is one of the big box retailers that ‘made the grade’ in Forest Ethics’ annual 2009 green grades report card, evaluating the multi-billion dollar office supply sector. Not everyone has a ‘mobile app’ to make … [Read more...]

Shaping Youth is in the Philadelphia Inquirer Today

Sept. 2, 2009 For a media shy writer wonk who likes to fly under the radar, you might say I’m a ‘glutton’ for punishment each time I agree to making a comment to the press. The Bebé Glotón toy story originated at Thingamababy about the Spanish breastfeeding doll with slurpy sounds and strap-on-bib; human not included. Since then, it's taken off into controversy land and … [Read more...]

Back to School: Are Teens REALLY Going Green?

August 20, 2009 Leave it to a teen to tap into the core eco-issue behind why there’s tons of talk about green teens but not enough ‘walking the walk’ toward sustainable lifestyle shifting ‘en masse.’ In 2007, when JupiterResearch cited 38% of teens caring about the environment and 15% being ‘hardcore green’ opinion leaders and digizens in a report, “Green Teens: Reaching a … [Read more...]