There are plenty of spins on the Spider-Man 3 record-breaking $382 million worldwide “priciest movie ever made" buzz...so I’m going to take a deconstructionist view about summer box office biggies, and look at the impact of media hype-fests on kids. Not pickin’ on Spidey, here; haven’t even seen the flick yet, I’m talking about a global web … [Read more...]
Call it a marketing hook, tween baiting, or young teen branding brilliance, Zwinktopia, the online virtual world that just launched Monday has leveraged their growth substantially by familiarizing kids with their avatar site Zwinky, first. Kids have been creating customizable Zwinky identities to plop on their blogs, profiles, IM and chat sites representing themselves for … [Read more...]
Hate to sound like an ogre, but I’m turning green with GIANT ("gi-normous" as tweens might say) disconnects on the ostensibly hip new Ad Council Shrek :30 PSA urging kids to "get up, get up, get up" and take a “small step” toward healthier eating. This is another classic case of a “throw ‘em a bone and show we care” marketing maneuver, … [Read more...]
All too often kids feel powerless to have their voice heard and their actions counted. We wrote about how World Wildlife Fund brought kids into the dialogue to post their own ideas and actions in time for Earth Day. Well, Earth Day ended yesterday, and I wonder if that momentum will too. In a retail world where Valentine’s cards are hauled out before Christmas tinsel is … [Read more...]
Update: 4-28-14 No, I'm not going to write a feature about the Clippers controversy to give even a smidge of attention to the ignorance and arrogance of teamowner Donald Sterling's racist ramblings purportedly captured on audio tape, as it appears his ouster is long overdue, and since media claims that he LIKES attention, akin to the shock jock genre of baiting outrage, it pays … [Read more...]
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