So that’s the end of kiddies TV programmes: the illiberal elite to ban advertising
IT does worry me when people propose these sorts of things. It’s as if they are entirely ignorant of why the darn things exist in the first place:
Companies selling products such as toys, sweets, clothes and video games should be prevented from marketing them towards primary school pupils amid fears the trend is undermining children’s natural development, it is claimed.
In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, the group of academics, authors, MPs and charity leaders warned that aggressive advertising aimed at infants as young as two was leading to a rise in “pester power” as children increasingly nag parents for the most expensive brands.
The development also makes it harder for parents to control their children and teach sons and daughters how to manage small quantities of money, they say.
Today’s letter urges the Government to copy tactics employed in countries such as Sweden and Greece where advertising aimed at young children is banned.
It is claimed that the ban could work by placing curbs on advertising linked to TV programmes, magazines and websites orientated towards under-11s and restricting tactics such as the use of cartoon characters in ad campaigns.
So, what happens if we ban advertising in kiddies TV programmes? Obviously, people who rely upon the ad revenue to pay for making kiddies TV programmes have no money and thus cannot make them.
In fact, we already have some curbs on what can be advertised in TV programmes aimed at the snot dribblers. And it has indeed led ITV to pretty much abandon making new kid’s TV programmes. This will simply make that permanent.
So who will be left making them? Obviously, the BBC. But there’s one other group: Sky. You can get various anklebiter channels on subscription, ad free. So, More money into the pockets of Murdoch as a result of keeping the children free from vapid consumerism.
This isn’t, I would wager, an outcome that these fools desire. And it’s that which makes me so cross with these sorts of people. Why the hell is it that they don’t think through the implications of their suggestions?
Posted: 11th, April 2013 | In: Money, The Consumer Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
