You know what we mean. Your daughter shrieks over anything that has Cinderella or any of the various Disney princesses imprinted on it and your son giggles when he sees SpongeBob bubbling on Bikini Beach. Yes, commercial characters haven’t just eaten your kids, they have consumed them.
Next Tuesday, April 26th, Slate’s DoubleX will be co-presenting a panel discussion at the Tribeca Y called, “Cinderella Ate My Daughter, SpongeBob Ate My Son: The Reality of Marketing to Kids.” The panel will feature a discussion with Peggy Orenstein, Tom Ascheim and Virginia Heffernan.
Peggy Orenstein released the New York Times book called “Cinderella Ate My Daughter” which reveals the “ultra-feminine messages being sent to a new generation of little girls.”
This panel will not only address those issues but about how marketing is affecting our children.
“In 1983, marketers spent $100 million selling stuff to kids. Last year, they spent 150 times that. Where does all this money go and how are children responding? Journalist Peggy Orenstein, former Nickelodeon executive Tom Ascheim and New York Times opinion page columnist Virginia Heffernan will talk about the ways companies target their youngest customers and how the advertising onslaught affects them. Slate senior editor Michael Agger will moderate.”
This discussion will take place at the 92Y Tribeca Mainstage on Tuesday, April 26th at 7 PM. Tickets are $12.00.
You can find the full event information here