Just wanted to post quickly about Parents for Ethical Marketing (PEM-click here for link) for my blog readers who may have never heard of it. Here is a snip from their website to explain their focus much better than I could:
Why Parents for Ethical Marketing?
Consumer marketing is everywhere. On television. In magazines and newspapers. On the Internet and on school buses. On billboards and on bus shelters. On milk cartons and cereal boxes.
In our public schools.
And it’s almost impossible to buy anything for a child without a “brand identity.” Barbie, for example, can be found on everything from band-aids to board games to backpacks.
As parents, we know there’s a problem. We argue with our kids about what to buy, what to wear, what to watch and what to play. We know what is best for our kids, yet sometimes we give in when we know we shouldn’t.
Of course, parents are ultimately responsible for raising healthy children. But corporate marketers would have us believe that combating their damaging commercial messages is exclusively our problem
Parents for Ethical Marketing thinks it’s about time that corporations take some of the responsibility.
Through parental awareness, public pressure, and legislative initiatives, Parents for Ethical Marketing encourages corporations to adopt responsible marketing standards and practices that sustain the health of children and families.
If this is a topic that is interesting and important to you, as it is to me, you can join PEM’s mailing list for updates and action information. Thanks for reading!
Mary