Toys R Us Throws Mother Nature Under the Bus In Prankvertising

Nov. 8, 2013 Update! Colbert gives a ‘Tip of the Hat/Wag of the Finger in his Nov. 6 edition, Forbes adds a resource roundup of the backlash among moms, (though I'd add it's not a gender issue as dads … [Read more...]

Media Messages and Binge Drinking Influence On Teens

Dec. 31, 2012 Prequel to New Year's Eve... Long gone are the days when I could host a “New Year's at Noon Bubble Wrap Stomp” and watch little kids gleefully squirt silly string at each other in … [Read more...]

Mattel’s Manipulative Monster High Marketing Machine: Unkind.

June 15, 2012 Last year when I wrote about Mattel’s vampy campy Monster High dolls I purposely didn’t even name their brand, hoping it would quietly fizzle and bury itself in the outcry of parents … [Read more...]

Miss Representation Sparks Change As a Film, As a Movement

Ready for Feb 3, 2013? Miss Rep will be at it again. Here is the new list of 2013 Twitter handles for advertisers, just use the #NotBuyingIt hashtag on Twitter to make a social media statement … [Read more...]

Vamp Tramp Toys: A Monster Problem

Mar. 16, 2011 Show and tell time on this  Wordless Wednesday. Not going to give them the pleasure of naming names here to add to their search engine buzz, since  research has shown that one of … [Read more...]

The Perfect Gift for a Man: Reinventing Manhood (Book)

Dec. 9, 2009 And now for the GOOD news! Yesterday for I wrote about ‘boys being turned into monsters’ with toxic marketing proliferation about what it means to be masculine, rolling out narrowcast … [Read more...]

Turning Boys Into Monsters: Energy Drink Leaves A Foul Taste (Again)

Dec. 8, 2009 It’s Tuesday, time for our weekly “Packaging Boyhood” focus, so what better time than the holiday season to sound the 'red' siren on the 'green' brand that tween and teen boys are sucking … [Read more...]

Is There a Possibility the FCC Hasn’t Seen The Irony Here?

Dec. 6, 2009 Samuel Johnson once said, “Our aspirations are our possibilities.” I love the limitless empowerment in the short phrase, so when I heard there was going to be a new online DIY craft show … [Read more...]

Packaging Boyhood: What About BOYS Halloween Costumes?

Oct. 25, 2016 Update: Given that media is slowly giving more coverage to the impact of body image on boys, including wee ones as young as six years old being 'fat-shamed' and toddlers even at age … [Read more...]

Girls as Boy Toys Takes A Toxic Turn: Body Image Shaping Youth

Shaping Youth wrote about the provocative viral promo targeting teen gamers to ‘place the tattoo anywhere on the woman's body’...We hit the op-ed pages when a teen radio station turned ‘hot 99.5’ into … [Read more...]