Target, and Lauredhel’s Toy-Catalogue Annex of the Bechdel Test:

I finally got around to reading the bumper Target Toy Sale catalogue.

And it’s just as pinkly sickening as you’d expect.

Taking a Stand on Ronald McDonald at Preschool:

Dear Director,

My son will not be attending school next Monday because of the scheduled visit of Ronald McDonald. 

Which?:  Food companies ‘bamboozle’ children with marketing for junk food:

We’re not against treats and we’re not against marketing, but we are against irresponsible company practices and hollow company commitments.

Next week: watch for an appearance by Parents for Ethical Marketing on a podcast produced by The Guardian.

Congratulations to Amy and Marc Vachon from Equally Shared Parenting. They will be featured in this Sunday’s New York Times Magazine (online version available today). I met Amy at the CCFC Conference in Boston last April. Amy and Marc’s success is great news for bloggers and for parents with a passion. (Downside: I will end up doing more laundry because of this.)

The New York Times reports on the most recent toy makeovers, including Strawberry Shortcake (click for the must-see visual).  As described at The F-Word:

The new, “improved” Strawberry Shortcake’s adorable chubby cheeks have been noticeably thinned out, her pudgy nose realigned into a perky little point, her signature red kinky hair straightened into hot pink silky tresses, and her frilly bloomers replaced with, well, I don’t even want to speculate on what’s beneath that mid-thigh-high dress — even her cat is thinner.

Good thing that cartoonish body images don’t affect little girls! Oh, wait. Never mind.

Marketing to kids has become a competitive business. So here’s some great! ideas! on how to capture kids’ attention! But please, if I read one more article on marketing to children with the tagline it isn’t child’s play I’m going to throw up.

Last week I met with PEM’s web designer and cool dad Trevor from Space2Burn. (Did I mention award-winning? Their site for the Minnesota Energy Challenge won an award at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofit’s Technology and Communications Conference.) Trevor’s the one who found the baby legs/business pants image that we all love so much. We’re going to be making some changes to the PEM site and to the monthly newsletter (sign up here).

A quick look at the IRS Charities & Nonprofits web page (Where is my exemption application?) tells us that they are finally reviewing the 501(c)3 applications they received in January — that’s us! For those keeping score at home, we’re waiting for the magical exemption so that we can began to solicit funding to keep PEM going.

When that exemption comes through, we’re going to join Buy the Change, a cool new (local) tool for buying, selling, and event announcements. Sort of a Craig’s List for do-gooders. Seventy percent of the fees go to the nonprofit of your choice.

In other social networking news, my old friend and former coworker Lee (a sorta bigwig at Yamamoto Moss Mackenzie) encouraged me to become LinkedIn. So I did. With that and Facebook (my page and a page for PEM), I’ve got all the networking I can handle.

Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ Pics Could Be Big Phonies: I am willing to give my first-born to the person who proves that this is true. UPDATE: Rats.

After monitoring the music and ads, parents and school officials say Show could be over for Bus Radio on Seminole County school buses

I’d like to take a stab at what Heather Armstrong wanted to twitter after the embarrassing debacle that passed for a mommy-blogger interview on The Today Show. Such a lost opportunity to introduce the blogosphere to the rest of the world.

So how, exactly, does a ridiculous book published by a vanity press get a review in Newsweek? “My Beautiful Mummy” book: Newsweek beat-up sucks most in

The Anti-Advertsing Agency wants to help some poor marketer break free of their soul-sucking career: Foundation For Freedom announces grant program: The 2008 AAAFFFA

The Cause Marketing Forum will feature professionals who have produced the “most outstanding cross-sector campaigns” like Unilever’s Campaign for Real Beauty. We all know how Unilever contributes to the very problem they are claiming to help in the Onslaught video, but did you know about the palm oil? From Greenpeace:

One million dollar federal fine for Reebok. Two years ago, four-year-old Jarnell Brown of Minneapolis died of lead poisoning after swallowing a heart-shaped pendant on a bracelet given away with Reebok shoes.

“Before voting last week to bolster safety inspections on imported toys and other children’s products, a number of Republican senators, including Minnesota’s Norm Coleman, first voted to water the proposal down.”

S.F. 1858/H.F. 2100, prohibiting the sale of children’s products containing bisphenol-A or phthalates, have been introduced in the Minnesota House and Senate. Updates as they are available.

Legislation has been introduced to measure students’ BMI (body mass index) in public schools. Since BMI is not an accurate measure, of, well, anything, I’d say we spend the time helping kids learn something instead. (via MNspeak)

Consuming Imagery: An audio slideshow with Brian Ulrich, from Paul Schmelzer. Ulrich is a featured artist in the Walker Art Center exhibition Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes. My new BFF Melby is moderating the free Thursday Night Panel (sponsored by some local corporation, can’t recall its name just now) on April 24.

How to Inoculate Your Children Against Advertising. One mom’s account of media education in the home. 

Corporate marketing v. individual choices: who is responsible for our good health? From Mark Sisson’s Daily Apple.

More on the power of parent blogging: Mother’s Blog Spawns Investigation Into Unsafe Car Seats 

An alternative to buying Disney bath toys: Free bath toys await in your toybox, kitchen, and garage. One of many great parent-reader ideas from Parent Hacks.

CARU and MPAA agree to watch out for PG-13 movie ads directed at younger kids. We had asked the MPAA to review their guidelines, as did the FTC. (Advertising Age)

Discussions about the new caffeinated candy at MarketingProfs and Shaping Youth. Note to Mars and Hershey: we better not see any of these products at a kids’-eye level.

Shocking, but true: Reducing kids video time reduces obesity. 

New blog alert: Beyond Mom. Case in point: Build-A-Bear? F-That!

Speaking of blogging: Bob Garfield discusses anonymous e-attackers in light of the recent suicide of advertising executive Paul Tilley.

[Bloggers] should also face a truth that is immutable online and off: Words matter. To write them, to host them, to hit “send” is easy. To take responsibility is hard.

A thoughtful and important post. Guess I’m still stinging.