Children and Brands

It’s official: corporations are evil geniuses.

At least I think they are, having read this week’s articles about children and brand awareness.

Making kiddie versions of adult products? Retail field trips? Exposing children enough so they can make assumptions about brands and the people who associate with them? All of these are done in an attempt to build brand loyalty at an early age, so that when they grow up and they have their own money to spend, they might as well spend it on the same products that they’re familiar with.

It seems kind of wrong. But it works.

It reminds me of a paper I wrote about the popularity of fast food back when I took ENG 104. One of the reasons why people enjoy fast food so much, I hypothesized, is because companies like McDonald’s suck you in as children and keep hold of you for practically your whole life. Everything about McDonald’s is tailored to kids: the food, the toys, the play areas, the bright colors, the charming characters. (“Charming” is completely subjective.) You automatically associate McDonald’s with happiness and good memories, even after you’re too old to eat a Happy Meal. But you can still buy Happy Meals for your children. And the cycle begins again.

Of course, this isn’t just limited to fast food. Noel Paul’s article mentions crazy-colored Heinz ketchup, Tommy Hilfiger clothes on dolls, kiddie versions of magazines, and Harley Davidson toys for tots. Joanne Bichman, HD’s VP, doesn’t deny what her company is trying to do, saying that they’re trying to “imprint” kids “with the positive aspects of the brand.”

You become a lifelong customer without even knowing it, which is actually pretty scary if you think about it too much.

But some might even call it genius.