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.

Call to action: Tell your senators to vote “yes” on the CPSC Reform Act. (via Consumer’s Union)

Stepped-up safety guidelines from Toys R Us. Authentic? We’ll see.

Chicago Tribune wins George Polk Award for consumer reporting on toy safety. We linked to these articles in a previous Sitter’s Checklist. (via Daddy Types)

“Disney Princess” and RECALL in the same sentence: and it’s not even my birthday! Bonus: “Made in China” and “sold at Wal-Mart.” Fire and burn hazard.

TV kid sleuth Roxy Hunter, with “a knack for catching the bad guy and choosing the ultimate accessory,” will be featured on products sold at tween stores Limited Too and Justice. (Creating characters with built-in brand-extension potential: priceless.) Did I mention the show is rated Y7? That’s for seven-year-olds. In addition to the licensing partnership, we can look forward to more Roxy Hunter movies (10 to 15 over the next five years); Roxy Hunter “novels,” and Roxy Hunter DVDs.

Disney characters promote beerish drink. Samba, the Smoother, Better Beer, makes Mini Malt — for kids. The malt beverage, featuring Mickey, Pooh-Bear, and characters from the Lion King, is made in Trinidad and exported to the U.S., Canada, Surinam, Guyana, Grenada, Barbados, Dominica, Antigua, and Jamaica. Is there any product Disney won’t license? (via Blog Ryan)

South Carolina lets school districts decide about placing ads inside public school buses. Officials say the ads could bring in millions of dollars for the schools. Looks like they’d allow only 20 ads per bus. Talk about a captive audience.

I’m putting the finishing touches on PEM’s application for tax-exempt status. My plan is to try to find some grant funding to help expand our scope, then — world domination. And t-shirts. If you’d like to be a part of it, please look to the left, find the “Join PEM” message, and pass along your email address. Joining means you’ll get the monthly newsletter (first edition scheduled for February), and I’ll get to count you among PEM’s members. You don’t need to be a parent. But you should believe in ethical marketing to kids. Questions? Contact me.

I’m late with this one but Chilihead has reminded me: McDonald’s has pulled their ads from kids’ report cards in Florida. Congratulations to Susan Pagan, a parent who brought the issue to the CCFC, who took it from there.

And from the Department of You’ve Got to be Kidding Me, Chicago edition: Toymaker Ty, Inc. refuses to pull recalled toys from store shelves. Any way you look at it, that’s bad PR. And:

. . . the state attorney general’s office remains at odds with Ganz, a Toronto-based manufacturer, over a heart-shaped ornament that the Tribune found contained high levels of lead. Ganz officials have said the charm is not children’s jewelry and therefore not subject to lead-safety rules.  

At some point, doesn’t this kind of corporate behavior become criminal? Ganz also makes our not-so-beloved-anymore Webkinz. The Chicago Tribune’s story is a follow-up to their fall special report.

Junk food ads banned in the U.K. The ban extends only to programming for kids younger than sixteen. Debate ensues.

Can public airwaves really be required to show opposing viewpoints on public issues? Of course! But what if the opposing viewpoint says don’t buy what the advertisers are selling? Adbusters is taking on big media and corporate advertising in Canada. (via Shameless)

The Toy Safety Association will release a draft of their “new” toy safety rules on February 1. Meanwhile, sweatshop workers in China break about 40,000 fingers each year. So how can workers adjust their face masks while spraying lead paint on our toys? Oh, never mind, they don’t wear face masks.

Ganz is not just in trouble with parents; now small retailers have had it, too.

(parent.thesis) asks, When will kids’ online safety be taken seriously? And by “safety” they mean “rampant commercialism” (among other issues). Izzy Neis comes to the rescue with What to Look For in Online Safety Destinations for Kids.

Kids who watch a lot of commercials ask Santa for advertised toys. Interesting: Girls requested more advertised products than boys.

CPSC acting chair likes the recent House vote on consumer product safety legislation. Weird, because she didn’t approve of the Senate version of the bill at all.

No product is safe from Disney branding: Rayovac Batteries in a Partnership With the World of Disney Characters. Next up: Disney Princess deodorant. You heard it here first.

McDonald’s advertises on public school report cards. You can run but you can’t hide. Check out the comments on the story and you’ll see that people are still missing the basic facts about the harm in marketing to kids.

Living in the Mall of America. For a week? “I won’t go insane. There’s too much fun to be had in this place.” (via Frugal for Life)

Teenagers are more worried about body image than the environment, school and peer pressure. Good thing there’s no outside pressure to, say, look a certain way.

Trade books, CDs, DVDs, and video games for free with Swaptree. You pay postage, they do the rest. Incredible. (via PHAT Mommy)