Slapping on some ads to a school bus is considered a slippery slope by many, but a bus contractor in Italy was really off the mark when it decided to offer advertising to a “not so kid friendly” shop.
Although a half-dozen states allow school buses to double as rolling advertisements to supplement so of the missing funds from school district budgets, and a few more such as New Jersey are considering them, I can guarantee that none would allow what one school bus contractor decided was a suitable advertisers for a bus that carried children. Italian transporter Dolomitibus posted an advertisement for a local adult entertainment store on the back of its bus, much to the chagrin of parents. Dolomitibus had yet to respond to calls from parents and the media about the ads.
In a recent blog on Time.com, Andréa Ford addresses the issue of advertising in and around schools. There are numerous possibilities for companies to advertise, humorously points out Ford, including on lockers, in the lunch room and on permission slips for field trips. One ad company based in Los Angeles even discussed distributing marketing materials that refer to advertising in schools as “unique,” a policy that “caters to a captive audience where the viewer can’t change the channel or turn the page.”
And as far-fetched as this may seem, it’s happening. This past September, a school district in St. Francis, Minn., agreed to cover 10 to 15 percent of the district’s lockers with ads. One group, Parents for Ethical Marketing, was quick to argue against the placement of these kinds of ads, explaining some of the negative effects of marketing to children on its Web site:
- Materialistic children are more depressed, more anxious, and have lower self-esteem than those who are not as involved in the consumer culture.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under two should not watch television because it can harm early brain development; still giants like Disney market videos aimed at parents of newborns.
- Corporations appeal to children’s natural desire to be older by marketing “grown-up” products to younger kids. Girls as young as six are sexualized by dolls, clothing, and television, leading to eating disorders, depression, low self-esteem, and unrealistic expectations about sexuality as adults.
- A child’s exposure to advertising is linked to family stress; yet corporate marketers spend at least $17 billion a year to market to children.
Where do you fall on the issue?
