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You can buy, sell, or promote your business locally, and you can designate which nonprofit you’d like to support. Of course, Parents for Ethical Marketing is one choice, but you could also choose to support one of more than a hundred other local organizations.
 
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My kids attend a great public school here in Minneapolis and as you might suspect, I keep my eye on commercialism creep there. It is rarely a problem. One day I did notice a busload of kids running into school with brand-new Target bookbags, straight from a Target-sponsored trip to the zoo. I bit my tongue.

Last week my daughter came home with an offer to participate in the McDonald’s All-American Reading Challenge. For every ten books she reads, she gets a Happy Meal. (Didn’t they learn anything from the report card-Happy Meal fiasco?) I wrote the teacher, declining the invitation and asking for an alternative reading “incentive” for my daughter — a book, perhaps?

Another parent brought this one to my attention. It came home with her son from the school lunchroom. It’s a bookmark with a word search on it. Educational!

Find the seven words hidden below that can lead you to a healthy day.

See the first word in the list? DORITOS?

But see, PepsiCo isn’t saying that DORITOS will lead you to a healthy day. That would be crazy!

The instructions say to find the seven words.

And the list has eight.  

Read: FTC Hands Kids Over to Junk Food Marketers, Defying Global Principles

I’m firing myself as executive director of Parents for Ethical Marketing.

If you’ve been following the progress of PEM, you know that my plan was to get nonprofit status so I could apply for grants and raise funds in order to have a real budget — including a salary.

But as for so many others right now, the economy has gotten in my way.

In our home, our primary source of income has been from twenty years’ of real estate investments. And reinvestments. And that’s not going so well right now. Among the obvious problems, like declining home values, we mistakenly thought that new home construction would be a good investment.  And one of our many mortgage brokers turned out be corrupt. It’s not been a good year.

And as for my fundraising efforts? I really haven’t been surprised by the response. People have little money to donate now, and those that do are giving to charities with more critical missions. PEM is not going to be on the top of anyone’s giving list.

For these reasons I am returning to real world of work with a very real paycheck. I am very fortunate to have found a job that’s a good fit for me. I will miss working in my jammies but will enjoy the company of co-workers again.

So what does this all mean for PEM? Several things. I will not be able to commit so much time. For now, I am giving up the newsletter and the prospect of taking the show on the road to parents on any regular basis. The blog will remain, although posting will be more infrequent.

And what does this mean for you? If you’re on the mailing list, I hope you’ll stay. I will still send out action alerts when necessary. And perhaps a special edition newsletter now and then. Plus, I have things you could do. If you have any interest in writing posts or contributing your talents and time any other way, please drop me a line.

Otherwise, I hope you’ll continue reading Corporate Babysitter.

A trip to the American Girl Doll Store in the Mall of America, courtesy mspmag.com. I suggest you watch curled up in a fetal position, as more than likely you will end up there anyway.

I’ve never considered myself a mommy blogger even though I am a mommy and a blogger. Seems that all mommy bloggers are (inaccurately) lumped into one big marketing demographic. With one voice and one opinion.

The mommy bloggers were recently credited (accurately) for convincing the makers of Motrin to remove a condescending, insulting online ad from the company’s website. No small feat.

Read the story from Lisa Belkin at the New York Times.

Critics have suggested that this story exists only in the mommy blogosphere-twitterverse echo chamber, which may or may not be true. But any time media messaging can be affected by those who pay attention — those who take a moment to see advertising with a critical eye — it’s a victory for all of us demanding reform.

The economic pinch couldn’t come at a worse time for those of us with children expecting a normal gift-laden holiday. Tomorrow, Friday, I’ll be interviewed on how to handle the onslaught of holiday advertising by Minneapolis Community and Technical College librarian Ginny Heinrich. MCTC’s BlogTalkRadio show, Our View from the Park, begins at 11:00 a.m. Central time. It’s a call-in show, so if you have questions or just want to say hi, call (646) 200-4753.

Patrick Byers recently asked if Club Libby Lu was responsible marketing or not, but it seems it doesn’t matter anymore as the retail stores will be closing.

Boo. Hoo.

From Nancy Gruver at Girl Media Maven:

. . . Club Libby Lu shopping and makeovers are not about imagination, self-expression or individuality. They are about conforming to someone else’s idea of who you should be and how you should look. What Club Libby Lu really does is indoctrinate little girls into a culture of comparing themselves to others and striving to change themselves into someone else. Yuck.

Meanwhile, the new American Girl Store in our own Mall of America is hiring Doll Hair Salon Sylists. 

Dream Job-Get paid to play at American Girl

. . . At the store, girls can shop for their favorite American Girl dolls, books, and accessories; get a new ‘do for their dolls in our signature Doll Hair Salon. . . . If you’re an experienced retail and/or hospitality professional, the job of your dreams is waiting at American Girl.

We’re currently seeking:

Sales Associates
Doll Hair Salon Stylists
Stockers
Visual Merchandisers
Event Associates

See, you take your $100 doll into the store and get its hair styled.

One of the newest “historical character” dolls from Mattel’s American Girl line is this one from way back in 1974. [Ahem.] The doll comes with this $18 old-fashioned accessory — a popular toy back then — a Barbie head with hair you could style. Yourself.

How quaint!

With all my complaining about girls’ Halloween costumes, I was happy to see Halloween Vamping for Girls Wears Thin. Seems that what girls and parents want is not exactly what costume retailers are offering.

To prove it, Empowering Girls: So Sioux Me is sponsoring a Real Girls costume contest. Parents have been sending in photos of what their girls really wore on Halloween; readers can vote on their favorites. Contest ends today.