Okay, it's not really the end of civilization. But that's what Ann Curry and Hoda Kotb wanted me to think was I watched the Today show this morning. No, they weren't talking about terrorism. Or crime. Or hurricanes (which are so last year). Or even Snakes on a Plane.
They were talking about the fact that a lot of little kids can recognize logos for fast food, soda, and candy. Hoda Kotb held up giant flashcards with logos like KFC, Burger King, McDonald's, M&M's, Starbuck's, Pepsi, and Pizza Hut on them - first with a group of five-year-olds, then four-year-olds, then three-year-olds, and finally two-year-olds. And surprise - the kids recognized most of them.
Judging from Curry's and Kotb's response to how many of these logos the children knew, you would have thought the children were correctly identifying the Seven Dirty Words, or maybe ingredients for methamphetamine. Is the fact that three-year-olds yell "Chicken!" when they see a Colonel Sanders KFC logo, or that they scream "Coffee!" when they see a Starbuck's logo really such a cause for concern? You can see video of the story here, and tell me what you think.
The story didn't have much of a point - they tried to say that marketing fast food to kids is one of the major causes of childhood obesity (but they kind of beat around that bush), and they said there is a "battle between corporate responsibility and parental responsibility" (but they didn't really go very far with that). The Today show story was actually just a teaser for a longer, more in-depth story on Dateline tonight. I'll be watching.
So what does it mean if your pre-schooler can recognize a good number of corporate logos?
Does it mean your child watches too much TV? Not necessarily, because many of these logos can be learned through real life experience. Besides, I don't think I've ever seen a Starbuck's commercial on TV.
Does it mean your child is destined to become obese? I don't buy it. There are a lot of other things that would have to happen in between your child recognizing the McDonald's logo at age three and becoming obese at age five (or age 10 or 15 or 20).
Does it mean that advertisers are manipulative and strategic and targeting our children? Possibly. But it might also mean that advertisers are doing their jobs really, really well.
Here's what I think it means. Children today are paying attention to the world around them. (That's great!) They can recognize logos and pictures before they can read words. (No surprise, is it?) They pay attention to where and what we - the parents - eat and drink, where we shop (my son knew the Target logo when he was two), and what we buy. (So watch yourselves!) Is all of that so terrible? Is it worthy of the jaw-dropping and hand-wringing I saw on the Today show this morning? Not at all.
Advertising is a part of life. It's part of a free market. It's also (and you saw this coming, didn't you?) part of our popular culture. You can run from it, but you can't hide. You can avoid TV, radio, print media, and the web - but what kind of life would you have? You can't very well avoid billboards and other signs, logos on bags and boxes, or logos on other people's t-shirts and hats. And you can't completely shield your children from these things either.
But you can teach your children to think critically, and to intelligently process what they see and hear in advertising. When your two-year-old sees the golden arches and yells, "McDonalds!" or "French fries!" you can ask him how he knew what that symbol meant or why it makes him think of fries. As he gets older, you can ask him why he thinks Shrek is on a box of frozen waffles, or why he thinks the waffles with Shrek on the box are better than the other waffles. You can have intelligent discussions. You can involve him in making decisions about what to eat, where to shop, what to buy.
So I'll be watching Dateline tonight to see where they go with this story. It's quite possible, I suppose, that Stone Phillips will reach the same conclusion I did. But that's not nearly as exciting as a headline like "Our Children Are All Going to Weigh 300 Pounds If We Don't Stop Showing Them Fast Food Logos." And that's what responsible journalism is all about, isn't it? Grabbing your readers with sensational headlines.
August 18, 2006
It's the End of Civilization
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12 comments:
You make a number of interesting points. Our Okapis (3.5 years) are alos good with logos and brands. On the one hand it makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong, but you are right that they do pay enormous attention to us.
I also think obesity is a huge (no pun intended) problem in this country but the marketing is less of a problem than modelling - model how to eat, what to eat and using common sense. Good post!
My son is two (just turned) and not only does he recognize Target's logo, he recognizes it on generic, differently colored target brand items. I go OFF about it here.
I've only been reading for a few months now but I always enjoy your perspectives. Thanks.
I would though challenge one of your thoughts in this post (only because I wasn't sure if your comment was serious, or in jest):
"Does it mean that advertisers are manipulative and strategic and targeting our children? Possibly."
Though I agree "advertisers are doing their jobs really, really well" we as parents must also understand that they are purposely, not possibly, manipulative and strategic in their target marketing.
My daughter cannot read but she can easily identify a STOP sign. She also knows the Target symbol and Golden Arches. Like you said, it's all about exposure.
I first heard this years ago when Adbusters magazine ran a quiz where you could identify hundreds of logos but perhaps, like most Americans, not even a few plants. The fact that experience has taught us all the symbols of large corporations is only disturbing when we look at the things we don't know.
It isn't that kids can identify logos of questionable value, it's that many kids can't identify basic things that do have value. My kids are five (twins) and we don't have a TV, and we don't go to many chain stores, so maybe they don't know so many corporate brands. But I know that they know the names of twenty birds or so, countless animals, and some plants, and they can tell you what whales eat and where milk comes from, ("The store!" right?) They can also tell you not to eat medication you find, because it might be candy, and since we live downtown, they can also tell you not to pick up needles, and tell an adult.
So, the issue is, what's important for kids to know, and do they get experiences that teach them that? I won't go to McDonalds, and I don't really care if they recognize it. But I'd be sad if that's all they knew. So much of 21'st century culture is a homogenized world where you never see or touch anything that isn't made by people and probably intended to take money out of your community and away to the owners of some distant corporation.
An example of a different kind if corporate recognition is that tonight my daughter asked me almost sadly, "Is that Nestle?" when we looked in the ice-cream freezer at the corner-store. She knows that Nestle is the largest profeteer off the global infant-formula market that's directly responsible for the death of 1.5 million infants a year. So I don't like them. We happily were looking at non-Nestle ice-cream, and it was good.
So, you can get in a huff about corporate imagery (I'd rather look at graffiti than advertising.) But the real issues are whether kids are getting a rich life experience to grow in, and who's taking our money, and what are they doing with it? Those are the things we ignore at our peril.
Well, from a pre-school teacher's point of view, we use these recognized logos as building blocks to reading. For about 4 or 5 years I have had my little four-year-old class bring in a piece of "environmental print" and we make a class book with their pieces. Kids always bring in cereal boxes, Disney movie jackets, or fast food wrappers. And usually, the kids can just about "read" all the other kids' words. And we can talk about how "Target" starts like t-t-t-Timmy's name, just for example. Stylized logos with meaning to the child will always be the first thing they recognize, I think.
I think that this just shows that kids are out and about more than ever before. They are watching their environment and absorbing so very much. They are riding around in cars, going to birthday parties with treats, and watching videos and TV.
My point is, if something is really interesting to them or a special treat, they will remember it. If the marketing is flashy or fun, they will remember it. And it does not take very many exposures to something to make an impression. My parents tell me that I recognized the "Sears" sign at 3 years old.
Like the blog says, and the comment right before mine, the key is to make your kids aware of the marketing ploys. That's sadly not being done in a lot of families, though. My own children (10 and 7) are aware of those things.
Just because little ones can recognize these logos doesn't fortell doom. But when the parents give into a child's whims and let the child direct the family based on a super ad campaign, that will be trouble!
I am getting a little sick of people trying to blame the media for causing problems x,y,z of our kids. It is my job as a parent to help teach my kids right from wrong, great tasting healthy food choices, choosing books over sponge bob.
My kids have eaten at McDonalds, but they have also gone out to farms and picked out their own fresh food.
Advertising will always be there, it was there when I was little, my mom hated McDonalds and yet I knew who Ronald was because of the commercials not because we were eating there. I don't think it means a whole lot.
Everyone has some great points!!
I have to go with the last comment on this one. Its completely up to the parents, and I totally agree with your take on the Today Show subject. Kids are going to know what these things are whether or not they are obese or shopaholics. The parents do the driving, the parents feed the kids, the parents go shopping, if a child knows this it is because the parents are talking to them. Its not the medias fault, they are just competing with each other to be the best. These things won't do to kids what Dateline or anyone wants you to believe, the parents do it.
Any my 3 year old has decided that any happy face at all means that it has something to do with Wal-mart. Who cares... I'm not going to stop going there because he associates a happy face with them. Ugh, what will they think of next!
I have to agree that people give avertisers too much credit. Kids are always going to absorb what is around them in the world. I drink Starbucks and wear Clinique because dad did and my mom did. My views on money were like theirs, as well as a lot of other things. We are more influenced by our parents and we influence our kids far more than any advertising ever will.
I have been struck by how young my girls were when they started recognizing logos. At two my oldest was clear on who the Quaker man was versus Lyric Studios and Old McDonald's. By four she could clarify which studio was responsible for which show. "That's not Disney! That's Nick Jr.!"
That makes me laugh, because at two I recognized the logo of the local department store - because I'd seen the ads while sitting on my father's lap while he read the paper. And when my mother took me holiday shopping downtown, I saw the sign and screeched, "Rikes! Rikes!"
Now, is that better or worse than a kid who recognizes the Golden Arches? Or maybe just different?
While I agree 100% that it is the responsibility of the parent to raise the child and have discussions about healthy eatings, brands, etc. I do find it utterly disturbing that infants, toddlers, and kids are seen in this consumeristic age as target markets and dollar signs for the multi-national corporations pushing their way into our household. My problem with this topic goes way beyond logo recongnition and will be a topic I address someday soon on my own blog. (NPR just ran a great 3 part series on this). I recently designed a tee shirt for kids (and their parents) to express their displeasure with the increasing trend of mass marketing to our little ones. These are available at my cafe press shop - http://www.worldsfaircafe.com
There will be many conversations as my daughter grows up - about the subversive tactics of advertisers, why buying local and supporting independent shops and their goods is important and essential to perserving any sense of community.
Jeff
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