Friday, June 6, 2008

Truth In Advertising

Some number of months ago, I was getting ready to go somewhere. I let Calvin go downstairs and watch TV, while I was getting ready. I assumed that he was busy watching the Disney channel. When I came down about 20 minutes later he asked me, "Mommy do you want to buy the Worx GT?" To which I replied, "what?" Calvin answered, "the Worx GT, Mom. You can fold it to fit easy into the back of your car; it can go under play equipment, and you don't even have to pay any money right now!" At that point, I looked at the TV and noticed that he had been watching an infomercial for that entire time.
That was the first time I had seen him very interested in an infomercial, but certainly not the last. For some reason, he really likes watching infomercials and has asked me if I need countless other products. So, after that we started talking about how commercials are not always exactly truthful, and they usually just want to sell you a product that you don't need. He has been trying hard to be discerning when it comes to these commercials. Almost every one that he sees now (unless of course, it is for a toy or breakfast cereal, which would of course improve his quality of life immediately and without question), he asks whether they are telling the truth or not. I try to point out some of the things they show you that are misleading, like how they make ordinary tasks seem more difficult, so you think you can not live without said product.


Yesterday a commercial came on for the Buxton Organizer bag.


In the middle of the commercial Calvin said emphatically, "They are lying, you don't need that. They just want to take our money, I will NEVER let them take our money!"
I know that discernment will come more with age, but this is a start!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My son has also tuned in to the tricks of the advertising trade. We recently saw a commercial for steel buildings in which the woman talking was very made-up with lots of cleavage. Although he didn't understand the "sexy=sales" theme, he did sense that something was not right. After the commercial was over he said, "You should never buy something from someone who smiles at you like that."