Advertising to kids. Use your common sense.

Elli and I have been having a conversation about advertising for about a week.

Elli watches two channels on tv. Channels 53 and 55.  For those of you that are not our neighbors, 53 and 55 are Disney and Nickelodeon. (Elli refers to them by number for some reason.)

She started complaining about the Nationwide Insurance commercials a few weeks ago. "Mom, why is Nationwide on my channel. I can't drive. I'm not buying insurance.  That's, you know, the D word." That would be dumb.

Then on comes a car commercial. "Mom, I can't buy a car? Why are they on the Disney channel? We can't buy cars. We're kids." mmm hmmmm. Good question Elli.

Then a Walmart commercial comes on. This she gets. She understands Walmart commercials, Save Money. Live Better. She has the tagline memorized and she's fascinated by it. Especially since we have become much more money conscious lately. We've been watching every penny and I'm teaching her to do the same. She's even asked if I will take her to Walmart someday. She thinks it's awesome that they sell everything from toys, to groceries to clothes to detergent. "Mom, that's cool! We have to go there." I know there is a Walmart somewhere. I'm just not sure where. I'll put it on my list of cheap activities!  Ha.

So what about these other advertisers? Nationwide? Car commercials? Your audience is 8 years old.

I understand why they THINK Disney and Nickelodeon are good choices. I'm sure the media planners and buyers (who are single and under 25) have visions of mothers and children happily watching Sponge Bob together. WRONG!!!  Have they forgotten what life was like as a child?

I hate to break it to you, but when the kids are plunked in front of the tv the moms are cooking, cleaning, showering, working on the computer, doing laundry, tending to another child. They are not. And I repeat. They (we) are NOT watching Sponge Bob or iCarly. We can hear it in the background. Just like we hear the dog barking, the kids fighting and the timer going off on the microwave. We are not watching the show or the commercials. Get it? You're wasting your money. Go to Lifetime, TNT, Bravo, COM other networks where adults are watching. You will be much more successful. And you won't be making bad impressions on impressionable young minds. My daughter thinks you're not very smart. And she's only 8. Gonna have some work to do on the "brand building."

I'm in the ad business. So she's probably more aware of commercials than the average kid. But still, she's right. It's just common sense.