Marketing to Children?

Do you sell a product that is targeted at young children? I’ve been hearing some parents complain recently about marketing to children. From Bratz dolls to Sponge Bob and Burger King, parents are sick of their children getting directly marketed to. And so I wanted to start a discussion on this topic and see what you all think.

I’ve been watching a lot of PBS and Disney programming. I’m trying to get a feel for what’s out there and what might be appropriate for my son. I’ve noticed that during the young children’s shows there aren’t really any commercials. You’ll see promotions for the upcoming shows, little short animated bits, and an occasional quick blurb about a sponsor. But no true commercials.

And during other hours, on other channels, I haven’t seen any commercials pushing kids’ toys or games or the like. I think that’s good. My child isn’t old enough to start the “I want” refrain after seeing a commercial. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I saw a commercial for a kid’s toy or product. But I know there are many other ways to target kids.

So here’s my question:

What do you think about marketing to children? Do you do it? Would you, if you had a product that was for them? Or would you prefer to concentrate on the parents?

There’s a group called Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood that wants to save childhood from marketing efforts. Things like targeting cartoon character meals and toys directly to kids in the grocery store or movie tie-ins for action figures and the like. Or making overly-sexualized toys and clothing for small children.

And you parents out there – what do you think about the marketing that is targeted to your kids? Do you teach them to ignore it or other ways to handle it? Does it bother you?

image: morgueFile