Dora The Explorer: Discover the World, Not the Mall

Feb. 26, 2009 Oh fer cripes sakes. Say it ain’t so. Is Dora the Explorer getting a makeover and turning tween TOO?! Leave her alone! This "age-compression" bit is putting a new dent in my TMJ-clenched jaw as we once again see marketers "vy for the buy" with zero regard for the integrity of the message being delivered. Just LOOK at the cues being sent to ‘tween girls’ as … [Read more...]

Shaping Youth Interviews ATB Director Darryl Roberts

Last Friday I broke policy and posted America the Beautiful: “See it. Support it.” sight unseen! 48 hours ago I saw it; applauded it. 24 hours ago I started a ‘social media scramble’ to rally a posse of social media pals to “Tweet it, Digg it, Blog it, Friend it," and NOW, I’m asking YOU to get your keister  into a seat and spike the … [Read more...]

Manga Makeovers and Other Body Image Cartoon Capers (Part 2)

It’s devil’s advocate day here, as I try to flush out my bias and take a centrist point of view on the cartoon character facelift conundrum, exploring ‘then and now’ from a sociological perspective, with a bit more analysis from yesterday's post on my own marketing background in terms of branding overhauls. After all, Pooh Bear got a makeover. So did Mickey. Popeye. Charlie … [Read more...]