Screen shot of today’s commercial
shown in middle and high schools.
It’s getting near Christmas and toy and game commercials are filling up Channel One’s’ ad spots. Companies like Nintendo like the captive audience that Channel One claims it can deliver.
On today’s show, students watched a commercial that offers them a “free” video game if they buy a Nintendo GameCube system for $99. Many 6th and 7th grade students, especially in the lower-income areas where Channel One is usually found, don’t have that type of money, but their parents might.
The message is clear: Nag your parents if you want this cool stuff.
Radio Shack had two different ads on today’s show for their tiny, radio-controlled cars called Zip Zaps.
These ads like so many on Channel One are misleading. They don’t tell the whole truth and young people, with limited life experience, need much more information.
For example, the Radio Shack cars have a radio range of 20 feet. That is an unusually short range. Of course, you can move up to the next level of cars for three times the money and get a 40-foot range.
You can barely read the fine print in this still frame from today’s Zip Zap commercial. Children could not read any of this print on their classroom TV sets. Channel One could insist on much bigger print or could have a voice-over that would inform children of what they can’t read. Alas, that will never happen.
Nintendo is trying to dump its old GameCube systems before their revolutionary new Revolution system is introduced next year. Shouldn’t children be told about this? Channel One has an apparent attitude of “buyer beware” which doesn’t make sense when so many of their captive audience is 13 and below.
