This is a screen shot of Channel One’s homepage today. This is the website that Channel One News plugs constantly during each daily in-classroom Channel One News TV show. (“Go to Channelone.com for more information.” “Go to Channelone.com for to enter the contest.”)
Channel One has taken a lot of money from Procter & Gamble’s Tampax corporation to create this massive advertising campaign. In Channel One News sales literature, the company has boasted to potential advertisers that their daily “news” show can mold the attitudes of a whole generation of teens and pre-teens. That is what Channel One is helping Tampax do.
Introducing Tampax advertising to young girls in the 10-13 age group is powerful. The goal is to pound the Tampax brand into the minds of pre-teens so often that they will almost unconsciously prefer Taxpax throughout their lives. Parents generally have no idea what is being advertised to their children in their classrooms and on the websites they learn about in class.
Should public schools be helping Tampax advertise their product and brand to students? Of course not, but that is what they do when they show Channel One News in their classrooms. Channel One News has layers of advertising directed at young people. The advertising on their TV show is just the first layer. Equally as important to Channel One’s revenue is the advertising young people will see and interact with on their website. Those who think what’s advertised on Channel One’s website is of no concern to schools simply are not in touch with reality.
The Channel One News homepage. This is an advertising website. News is an afterthought.
If a young girl clicks on any ad or any of the blue in the sidebars she is taken to the page below.
A video advertisement starts playing. A young person is inundated with text, video and music – all with the purpose of beating the Tampax brand into impressionable minds.
BTW, Channel One’s website lists the things they would never consider advertising.
