Nick Launches mobile website
According to the article on adweek.com (http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/digital/e3i1cef1824d6c1e597960da36097c88da1). Nickelodeon will be offering a mobile version of its website that is to include alot of games and mobile tie-ins to its regular tv shows. While they don't go into tremendous detail about the potential advertising on this new mobile media I think it raises alot of ethical questions that are intertwined with some very brilliant ideas. The sites will be able to be accessed by wireless devices, which a growing number of younger kids are getting their hands on these days. It isn't very uncommon to see kids who watch Nickelodeon in posession of a cell phone or have the ability to get ahold of a parent's PDA. The first ethical problem I see with this is that the ability for Nick to advertise while a game is loading. Being as old as we are in class we are very aware of when someone puts an advertisement between websites or loading screens and we have an opinion of it being annoying. To a child it wouldn't stand out as much and it almost seems like they would be a very captive audience as they eagerly await to play a game.
The next ethical question is if is ok to target children this young. With television there is typically a parent watching what the child is watching or is in another room and can overhear advertising and what is being sold to children. On a PDA it seems like it shuts out everything but the child and the mobile device. It is wrapped up in a brilliant idea that Nick can sell branded toys in quick little 15 second spots between loading screens for the character in the game.
The mobile website is also going to be a way in which kids can vote for the kid's choice awards. I think this is only a start. It will only be a matter of time til kids will get notices during the show to log into the mobile site and get a follow up or the rest of an episode. How much is too much? The question I think of is it ok for children that young to use media so much? I remember being that young and I was much more inclined to go outside after my favorite show. If I had other resources to watch more I would have spent more time inside. It seems like parental responsibility would step in here but I feel like Nickelodeon is will walk a thin line between getting parents to block it/take it away and having a media where it consumes kid's attention and is immensly successful in selling advertising.
posted by Andrew Pajak @ 12:07 PM
3 Comments
3 Comments:
I think this a really intriguing/scary concept. If all of this is happening now, I can't even imagine what things will be like 10 years from now. I think that there are definately some ethical issues that come into play here. Especially with so many new call to action commercials coming out, telling kids to get out and excercise. Nickelodeon needs to be very careful here, but parents need to even more careful. It should be interesting to see how this works out.
All is fair in love and advertising. Aside from the ethics I think its important to note that children are logging on to various forms of the internet at an alarmingly young age. I'd like to share a little story with everyone. My 4 yr old cousin Morgan came over one day and wanted to go on Nick Jr.com so I thought okay and propped her up on my lap and thought I'd click around while she watched in amazement. As soon as the screen loaded I couldn't believe it. She, with mouse in hand went up to the navigation, found the games, selected her difficulty level, and played the game before deciding it was too easy.
She is four!
I thought maybe she was some type of baby genius but another young 4 yr old named David frequents a site (under supervision) called Club Penguin.com and while he cannot read he has learned to know where the right buttons are and where to go to play more games and make his little 2D penguin run around its digital winter wonderland.
It scared me, I couldn't have done that when I was four.
In summation, this is just the latest incarnation of kid advertiser's introducing our toddlers to new technology before they can even spell mobile. Now if a four year old has a cell phone of their own we have a serious problem.
I think that a really important consideration here is what kind of advertising is going to be shown on these 15 second spots between game loading? I think that Nickelodeon has a great opportunity to reach kids while they are out and about and recency could become a factor in deciding what types of products these kids will be wanting to consume. I don't think it will be a problem as long as the advertising doesn't get out of hand. I definitely do not think that is is right to have young kids being bombarded with advertising while trying to play a simple game on their cell phone. But, if parents or others feel that it could be become a bigger issue, they should teach their kids the importance of stepping away from the television, the computer screen, or limit the use of cell phones and other media.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home