Children

Like Taking Candy from a Baby

by Sheldon Rampton — May 10, 2008 - 4:56pm

Consumer Reports Webwatch and the Mediatech Foundation have published a study of how young children interact with the internet, warning that "Publishers of many major children's Web sites should do a better job disclosing sales and advertising information to parents, especially as more kids at younger ages go online to play and meet friends." The study asked families to keep journals and use video cameras to track the way their children used sites such as Club Penguin, Webkinz,

Main Source: 
Consumer Reports Webwatch

New Kids' Book on Plastic Surgery Skirts Breasts

by Anne Landman — April 28, 2008 - 1:04pm

How does a mother explain to her children why she's having a breast augmentation, a tummy tuck or a nose job? Help is on the way -- a new book for kids about plastic surgery, My Beautiful Mommy. The story features a handsome, musclebound, superhero-type male doctor and a Mommy who says that as she got older, she couldn't fit into her clothes any more. Mom explains to her child that the doctor is going to help her fix all that. Mom comes home after surgery looking slightly bruised and bandaged, but with fuller, higher breasts.

Main Source: 
Newsweek, April 15, 2008

Daughter Busts Dad: Burger King VP Caught Running Dirty Tricks Campaign

by John Stauber — April 28, 2008 - 8:00am

Amy Bennett Williams, following up on her previous article reports, "As the Coalition of Immokalee Workers prepares to deliver more than 60,000 petitions to Burger King headquarters in Miami today, the daughter of Burger King's vice-president Stephen Grover confirmed her father is responsible for online posting

Main Source: 
News Press, April 28, 2008

Special Offer: Free Grass to Subject Your Children to Sludge

by Judith Siers-Poisson — April 23, 2008 - 7:13pm

Sludge keeps rearing its ugly head. Scientists used federal grant money to "spread fertilizer made from human and industrial wastes on yards in poor, black neighborhoods to test whether it might protect children from lead poisoning in the soil." The residents were not alerted to any harmful ingredients in the sludge, and were assured that it posed no health risks for their families.

Main Source: 
Baltimore Examiner, April 13, 2008

Is Earth Day the New Christmas?

by Anne Landman — April 15, 2008 - 12:59pm

GreenwashBack in 1970, Earth Day started out as a "green" event that encouraged people to decrease their consumption, but as more companies jump on the greenwashing bandwagon, Earth Day h

Main Source: 
Advertising Age, April 15, 2008

Less Cause, More Marketing for Unilever

by Diane Farsetta — April 10, 2008 - 2:47pm

In 2004, the Unilever company Dove got lots of attention for using "ordinary-looking -- in some cases heavyset -- women in its ads for shampoos and beauty products.

Main Source: 
Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), April 10, 2008

Vets for Freedom Pushes School Too Far

by Diane Farsetta — March 27, 2008 - 1:47pm

It was originally planned as "a low-key classroom discussion about patriotism and service to country" at Forest Lake High School in Minnesota. But when the Republican Party-associated pro-Iraq war group Vets for Freedom "decided to call a press conference at the school and alerted media," things got heated.

Main Source: 
Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota), March 26, 2008
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