On
January 23, 2006, Channel One began running a Verizon commercial whose purpose was to get young people to nag their parents for a cell phone with Verizon Wireless service. The commercial was pushing a new feature called “ringback.” When your friends call you they won’t hear the phone ringing, but instead will hear a song that you have selected. It is a new way to customize your cellphone.
(Channel One News got into big trouble when they advertised Ringingphone.com which sold teens and preteens “wallpaper” images to put on their cellphones. These included pornographic images (images we removed from our site because of their graphic nature). Obligation publicized this Channel One advertiser and C1N quickly ended the ads. Again, Channel One News has a history of being reckless with their choice of advertisements.)
A young person could have different songs for any number of different callers.
Parents have no idea that large amounts of school time are being used by Verizon and Cingular in an unprecedented effort to market cell phone service to their children.
In the ad which you can see in its entirety below, several artists are mentioned as examples of music you can use as your ringback tone. One of them is a group called Disturbed which is an appropriate name. Their music usually has a parental warning on the CD.
Watch the video that preteens had to watch.
Above is an image taken from the Channel One News TV show on January 23. This Verizon ad is informing children they can choose from a wide variety of music for their phones. The ad lets kids know that you can even get music from Disturbed, therefore kids know that other artists known for their explicit lyrics are also available. No mention is made that there is an additional cost per ringback song and a monthly fee. This is deceptive advertising, especially if you consider the commercials are playing in classrooms with some ten-year-old students.
Above is a cover of another Disturbed CD. This group was featured in the Verizon ad but many other violent and vulgar bands have ringtones available on Verizon’s site, such as 50 Cent, Ludacris, Missy Elliott, Nelly, Twista, and many, many more. Children can even download a South Park satire of O Holy Night.
Children can have different songs play for selected callers. When Mom calls, she can hear a song from Faith Hill; when a friend calls they can hear “She’s A Bitch” by Missy Elliott or “Type Of Nigga U Need” by Mike Jones. According to some user web sites, a big seller on Verizon is the pro-drug song “Ten Crack Commandments” by Notorious B. I. G. It tells you everything you need to know to use and sell crack cocaine. (One commandment for young people: “Number four: know you heard this before, Never get high, on your own supply.”)
Channel One News approved this ad even though on its face it was promoting a group, Disturbed, known for offensive lyrics. Channel One’s president Judy Harris says she approves ads for the show. She says she is the mother of an 11-year-old and that the public should trust her.
She had a choice: 1. Err on the side of kids and refuse to air this because it promotes the type of music Channel One has promised parents it would never again promote (In the late 90’s Obligation caught Channel One playing the music of Marilyn Manson on their classroom TV show. They denied it, but we had the tape. Channel One complied with our request that they stop playing music from groups known for their explicit lyrics.) 2. Err on the side of the advertiser. Since the first choice would mean the loss of revenue, Channel One’s Judy Harris approved the ad.
From what we can tell no downloadable song has the actual explicit lyrics in the short clip from the song. The songs that glorify violence to women, murder and drug use are unfortunately known to many children. The ringtones (which contain the music and the words of the actual song) don’t need to have the curse words and awful lyrics to convey the ugly messages they contain.
For example: If a child saw this commercial on Channel One News and they convinced their parents to buy a Verizon phone and a few ringback songs, he or she could download Disturbed’s “Meaning of Life.”
WARNING EXPLICIT
LYRICS: Here’s a typical Disturbed song called “Meaning of Life.” It is one of the many offensive songs downloadable from Verizon. Music groups are allowing their music to be used on cellphones in hopes that young people will buy the entire song for their music library. Can you imagine this song playing over and over in a middle school student’s iPod headphones?
The brutal truth is companies like Verizon and Channel One view children as a target market. It seems as if they have little concern about what they are selling children as long as the money keeping rolling in.
Meaning Of Life Lyrics
by Disturbed
I wanna get psycho
Run you little bitch
I want your power glowing, juicy flowing, red hot, meaning of life
It’s not enough to have a little taste
I want the whole damn thing now
Can you dig it?
Need to get psycho
wanna hear you say it
say, you want it, need it
Don’t wanna wait until we finish the show
It’s not enough, you hunger for more
You’re one twisted little f***
And now you wanna get psycho with me
Decide
Give in
I wanna get psycho
Scratch my itch
Give me your power glowing, juicy flowing red hot, meaning of life
It’s not enough to have a little piece
I want the whole damn thing now
Can you dig it?
Need to get psycho
Wanna hear you scream
Tell me to take you, scare you, f*** you
After we finish the show
It’s not enough, you listening whore?
You’re one twisted little f***
And now you wanna get psycho with me
I can feel the blood, flowing through my veins
Spilling on my soul
And now the hunger’s getting bigger
Come a little closer now pretentious whore and pull my trigger
Free the violence that is building in me
I say now end of the ride, murder suicide
Is how I’ve been feelin’lately
Come a little closer my pretentious whore I’m living with a feeling that
I can’t ignore
Come a little closer my pretentious whore I’m living with a feeling that
I can’t ignore
Come a little closer my pretentious whore I’m living with a feeling that
i can’t ignore
And the need to get psycho is not a question to me
