I was listening to the NPR show Marketplace today and they had a piece titled "Marketers Push Brand Loyalty in Schools". The focus was on a Proctor and Gamble program aimed at fifth grade students called Always Changing. They claimed it reaches 85% of fifth graders, so there is a good chance, if you have kids, they will or have gone through it.
The program focuses on changes that go on in puberty and include samples of deodorants and P&G products, a teacher powerpoint, and videos for Boys and Girls. P&G has a few other educational programs for students as well.
I am a former high school teacher and was always uneasy with blatant advertising in the classroom. Duncan had a yo-yo education program for example. Exxon-Mobile sponsors several different programs as well. I am sure there are countless other in different subjects.
Do students know they are being marketed to? At what age do they gain this sophistication? From my experience, high school students are not as wise as they like to think they are and don't recognize even thinly veiled marketing ploys. What chance does your average 5th grader have?
What are your experiences with marketing in the classroom, either to you or your children? Are you aware when it goes on at your schools? If you are not aware of it, are you sure it is not happening? Should we allow corporations in the classroom so to speak?
Just some food for thought tonight.
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5 comments:
Josten's are the worst. The garbage that they push at the kids to buy for graduation is ridiculously priced. Most of it is totally useless stuff. There is a hyped sales pitch assembly the students are required to attend. I'm sure the school must get something out of it too.
Another marketing ploy that always bothered me was the fund raising done in elementary schools. The "prizes" that they award the kids for selling at different levels is obscene. If you have ever attended the sales pitch assemblies you would be surprised how they rev up the little kids.
Their products are outrageously priced with huge markups. Parents and relatives feel obligated to buy the $30 per pound chocolate or the $10 roll of wrapping paper to support Johnny's school; however, the school gets very little in return. The real winner is the company itself.
HALE.I'm not sure I was unaware but I have never really thought about it until now.I don't mind if the product has funded some programs for the school or videos with products is no big deal to me, but when it comes to the fund raisers my daughter has heard me time and time again say how expensive and over priced the stuff is and we have never subjected our family or friends to buy anything. I just don't do it and my daughters fine with it she knows that the prizes she could win are junk. I don't like that they have pushed this on us but have chose it ignore it or not pertisipate.
KK is right about all the fund raising crap and parents being stuck buying a bunch of the stuff.
The one that got me was "Time" magazine. We HAD to buy a year subscription and the teacher would pick 4 stories out of each copy and test us on them. The more you could answer the higher you score. To me that was wrong.
I went to grade and high school in the 50's and 60's and remember no blatant marketing. When I registered for college, I got a free samples bag filled with toothpaste and deodorant and magazine subscription offers and maybe credit card ads - that was a long time ago - but there still wasn't any real advertising in the classrooms.
I think it should be fought wherever possible, but marketing has overtaken our lives. One regret I don't have about not seeing the future is missing how much more prevalent it will be. McDonalds targets us from childhood on. I am sick of seeing all the health ads aimed at us baby boomers - the biggest current market. They make me feel guilty.
Try college today. The indoctrination tries to tell students to be aware of credit card pitfalls, yet in the Halls you have at lest one and more often all three credit card agencies selling their card services. A college student has no idea what they are in for with high fees and interest rates. Prime meat on the hoof, waiting to be plucked. And plucked they are. It's so easy to buy the things they want without regard for what they will really pay
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