Kids as buzz marketers
The Search for Cool is a British television documentary produced in 2006. This clip shows how a buzz marketing company, Dubit, works with children as young as six to sell Nintendo products:
H/T Autoscopia
Parents for Ethical Marketing
is a young, grassroots organization of people concerned about the effects of corporate marketing practices directed at young children.
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July 5th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Somewhat appalling, really.
July 5th, 2008 at 11:54 am
This is sickening. Especially that the schools let the kids promote products (even the Dubit rep. says “whatever we can get away with”). And identifying “cool” kids? Sickening! If you’re 8 or 9 or whatever, and you’re not chosen to promote a product, you’d be devastated. It just brings class competition one step closer to the kid (it’s not what your parents can buy, it’s who you are!).
July 8th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Thanks for the post on my blog Lisa, it’s great to get involved and to get more information. The clip above is certianly eye-opening and as a marketer myself I dont think using kids in this regard is a conscientious way to behave. I would never recomend one of my clients to take an approach such as this.
I still retain the view that there are ethical, beneficial ways to speak with children and their parents to provide a benefit, such as helping you become more active in your community, which can be brought to you by a brand. But this example is not it.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:42 am
[…] news items or press releases. Sometimes, it’s just sharing a link or a video, such as a piece on a firm utilizing six-year-old children to sell products and sometimes it’s sharing opinions on corporate-sponsored exhibits on historical public […]