Grabbing a child’s mind
p2pnet.net News:- Advertisers know if they can get into kids’ minds, it’s a sure route to parents’ wallets.
Resistance is futile.
With that in mind, “CNN can promote its advertisement-laced online presence however it likes during broadcasts, but new federal rules mean TV channels like Nickelodeon that cater to children no longer enjoy the same freedom,” says CNET News.
And that’s because the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has ruled during shows geared toward children age 12 and under, cable and broadcast operators may not display addresses for sites with links to commercial content.
“Never mind that recent visits to NickJr.com and Noggin.com, online properties of kid networks, turned up more advertisements for Tylenol cold medicine and Nissan minivans than for anything youth-targeted,” says the story. “And some child advocacy groups would argue that many kids’ television shows amount to program-length commercials for the toys and edible goodies endorsed by their stars.”
Regulators feared some broadcasters were using children’s programming as a billboard for addresses to Web sites, “established solely for commercial purposes” and thus sneaking around federal law, says CNET. But, “Under the 1990 Children’s Television Act, every hour of children’s programming may contain only 10.5 minutes of advertising during weekends and 12 minutes on weekdays.”
Only close to a quarter of an hour for kiddie ads? Oh! The Horror!
“A 2004 version of the FCC’s rules prompted outcry primarily from the advertising, cable and broadcast industries, which argued the restrictions violated their First Amendment rights,” the story continues.
“The final product, adopted last September, arose from an agreement from the four major broadcast networks, three major children’s cable networks (Nickelodeon, Disney and Cartoon Network), and a coalition of advocacy groups called the Children’s Media Policy Coalition.”
Meanwhile, a US senate panel unanimously adopted an amendment to a “massive communications bill that proposed requiring broadcasters and cable operators to ‘prevent interactivity’ in commercial messages aired during children’s programming,” says CNET, adding, “The amendment’s sponsor, Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W.V.), has not decided whether to reintroduce that bill but hopes to hold hearings this year, a spokeswoman said.
“The idea is sure to encounter renewed resistance from the advertising industry, which has accused the policy’s supporters of ’stifling the development of new technologies and innovative forms of programming even before they exist’.”
Also See:
CNET News – Kids’ TV faces new Net restrictions, January 24, 2007
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January 25th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Who’s to say that the Tylonyl and minivan ads aren’t targeted towards kids? Just because they can’t legally buy them and just because the products aren’t necessarily for a kid audience doesn’t mean that the ads aren’t targeted toward younger viewers. The ad industry knows full well that children are more naive, fickle, and ignorant than adults when it comes to resisting the temptation of advertisements, even if they aren’t for products made for them. The kids can still nag their parents to death if they are successfully swayed by that minivan commercial.
On a related note: as far as I know of, none of the three major children’s networks is making any serious attempt to provide season DVDs of their current and canceled programs for archivers and others who would want them, unlike their over-the-air network competitors. This is a travesty. Many of us grew up watching one or more of these three networks, and could also be potential buyers of older shows if they were provided in season DVD form.