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Market holiday toys to kids? Oh no, YOU
DIDN'T!
Alana
Semuels
LA Times
November 14, 2008
Times are tough, and the last thing most parents need is
for their kid to see some ad for a talking princess
throne and beg for it, even though the parents can't
afford it. With that in mind, the Campaign for a
Commercial- Free Childhood sent a letter to the CEOs of
14 toy companies asking them to market to parents, not
kids, this holiday season to save parents some grief.
"It is particularly egregious to foment family conflict
by advertising toys and games directly to kids that
their parents may not be able to afford," said the
letter, signed by CCFC Director Susan Linn and Alvin F.
Poussaint, a member of CCFC's steering committee. CCFC
also asked parents to write their own letters, excerpts
of which can be found here.
The Toy Industry Assn. of America didn't like that idea,
though. It responded to CCFC with a statement of its
own, saying it "beg[ged] to disagree" with the CCFC's
request. "Children are a vital part of the gift
selection process and should not be removed from it,"
said the statement from Julie Livingston, senior
director of public relations for the Toy Industry Assn.
What else did the toy folks have to say? Keep reading...
Further points from TIA included:
-If children are not aware of what is new and available,
how will they be able to tell their families what their
preferences are?
-While there is certainly greater economic disturbance
going on now, families have always faced different
levels of economic well-being and have managed to tailor
their spending to their means.
One company, Jakks Pacific, mailed a copy of the
statement to parents who had written letters.
This was not the right way to get the parents in Jakks'
camp. "When I get blatantly condescending emails like
this it makes my decisions just a little easier,” wrote
one parent, who only left the initials A.P.
Another wrote, "To me, a toy maker afraid to advertise
to the parents is only admitting they have nothing of
value to sell to my family and need to resort to
tricking my children with fancy graphics and false
promises."
And yet another wrote: "If you would just simply come
out and say 'we have a right to market and we will
continue to market to very young children...BECAUSE it
is easier and more effective,' then I would respect you
for your honesty."
The back and forth illuminates that many parents are
concerned that this holiday season will be tough, and
that toy makers are worried, too, that if they can't
market to kids, they'll be left behind. But it still
makes you wonder: In tough times, should toy makers be
restricted from marketing to kids to avoid
disappointment, even if that leads to slow sales?
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