Sprite Yard: A Mobile-Social-Soda Hangout?

Is this a sweet spot for marketers targeting teens' sticky eyeballs or just a bunch of fizz and buzz from desperate soft drink companies? As soda giants start pouring into the mobile platform, get ready for some commando branding gimmicks, as seen in this New York Times article, Promoting a Thirst for Sprite in Teenage Cellphone Users. Shaping Youth wrote about soda and … [Read more...]

Forbidden Fruit & Kids’ Food Advertising: FTC & KFF Compare

Ok. Two things here. First off, I agree that making junk food “forbidden fruit” will only serve to increase the coolness caché in terms of marketing strategy, and second, the media spin on the new FTC findings on kids’ exposure to food advertising really just reveals a methodology glitch in age breakdowns. Let's just segue to advergames if you don't see … [Read more...]

Get Kids To Eat Green Using Shrek Against His Drek

Instead of turning kids’ tongues green with dye, additives and processed Shrek Drek (sanctioned as a green dot “Smart Choice” by PepsiCo’s self-awarded labeling system since they’re BAKED Cheetos instead of Flaming Hot extra toxic ones) imagine if we used Shrek to shift the appeal toward healthier food? What a fairytale, eh? Shaping Youth is testing some of these … [Read more...]

Digital Marketing Tactics Revealed to FTC: Report At DigitalAds.org

Quite a coup for consumer and health advocate groups today who released the power of media and marketing to depants digital advertisers who are undermining parents by flying under their radar. Woohoo! This is gonna be fun. If I sound juvenile, it’s because I can barely contain my glee...Nothing like a one-two counter-marketing punch to start the day, complete with a … [Read more...]

Dads and Daughters Togetherness: A Firsthand Snapshot

We interrupt this CBS program series recap to bring you word from the parenting trenches, sharing a magic media moment! Promise I’ll get back to last night’s CBS advergaming segment (video clip here) but frankly, Shaping Youth’s readership is well-versed in the pitfalls of same...Especially since I’ve already covered advergaming here, and here, and … [Read more...]