kids and advertising

I found the discussion about children and the media to be quite spot on. As a telecommunications student, I am not only encouraged, but sometimes required to analyze commercials and advertisements. There are so many companies and brands that target children in their ads without the audience even realizing it. Bright colors, loud upbeat music, and friendly cartoon-like characters are often times utilized in such ads. I think it’s sad that capitalism has reached the extent of “preying” on children. I know that money and merchandise and other material goods have somewhat taken over as the measure of success, but young kids should not be subjected to the tactics of big corporations. The fact that companies actually rely on the nagging of kids to their parents is somewhat startling. It’s like the toy manufacturers know that parents would rather just buy their kids a toy to get them to be quiet than discipline them and teach them to value the things they have. I could be a little biased in this area because I am not a kid person (at all) and find it to be quite annoying when I’m in a store (say, Wal-Mart) and I hear a child begging, and often times crying, to their parent to purchase a toy. I attribute this, in part, to the advertisers and marketing departments for the toy companies for making the children feel like they have to have whatever gadget is new on the shelves. And has anyone else noticed the ridiculous abundance of toys and games that are in stores these days? I hate to sound like my dad, but what happened to playing outside or making up games with your siblings/friends? I just think the companies know that even in a recession, parents want to make their kids happy while maintaining some shred of sanity, so they market their products to kids because kids have a way of persuading their parents to spend money.