spiderman

Superhero paraphernalia and children's products have always lived hand in hand, well before the days of plastic toys in children's meals. Which makes sense from a marketers point of view--children gravitate toward that which they recognize and idolize. And the purpose of this post isn't to suggest that these tie-ins are inherently bad. It's just important to realize the effect this may have on your children. You may see a superhero toothbrush. And chances are this is the same harmless message your children are taking from this ad. But not necessarily.

Will your child think that if they have this toothbrush they will take on some of the attributes of Spiderman? Will they be disappointed when they brush their teeth and can't scale a building? Sure, this is an extreme example, but I doubt things like this have never happened.

And what are the ethics of using a cartoon to sell something? It may not seem a problem for something that encourages children to brush their teeth. But what about when this is applied to something like fast food? Something with foreseeable potential damage? When is it okay to use these hero types to sell to children and when is it not?

Any ideas?