Post: Ads in Books?
Ads in Books?
Books like those in the Gossip Girl series have always been jammed-packed with brand-name dropping -- everything from designer shoes to top shelf alcohol. But a new title is taking it a bit further -- it's accepting money for these product placements.
Read on to see what the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has to say about Cathy's Book: If Found Call (650) 266-8233, then share your opinion below. Have publishers gone too far -- or will today's teens even notice?
Until now, books have been a refuge from the advertising that is ubiquitous in children's lives. But that's about to change. In an unprecedented commercial intrusion, a soon-to-be published young adult book will include product placement. Cathy's Book: If Found Call (650) 266-8233 (Running Press) will incorporate Cover All makeup into its plot for promotional purposes.
The last thing young girls need is a cosmetics ad disguised as a novel. Please urge Running Press to remove all product placement from Cathy's Book.
If we let this go unchallenged, books -- like television, movies and videogames -- will become major venues for marketing to children. And the quality of children's literature will be compromised.
CCFC and the Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC) have launched a campaign to urge Running Press to remove all product placement from Cathy's Book. CCFC is leading a letter-writing campaign to Running Press while petitions urging Running Press to remove the product placement will be displayed at ABC member bookstores.
What You Can Do:
- Please take a moment to urge Running Press to remove all product placement from Cathy's Book and future publications.
- Ask your local bookstore to join the campaign by displaying one of our petitions. You can download a petition by clicking here.
Thank you,
Josh Golin
Program Manager
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/
There are 1 replies to this post
Date: September 6, 2006
This is a terrible development, I think. Kids are already so saturated with advertising (and already so unable to distringuish between what's an ad and what's not). Good for the Campaign for A Commercial-Free Childhood for speaking up.