Shopping adventures with the cynical boys

September 10, 2010 by

When the boys got back from camp a few weeks ago, they had a craving for some goodies after a summer of wholesome cooking over an open fire. This is what we bought:

This is not, trust me, what we usually put in the shopping cart. But even on this junk-food-foraging trip, they spotted this display in the cereal aisle (which I had never noticed before), and came to a complete stop, aghast: 

There’s Barbie, Dora, Ariel, Buzz Lightyear, Curious George, Veggie Tales, Nemo, Build-a-Bear, Spiderman, Star Wars… let’s see, did they miss anyone? Every time I look at this photo I see a few more licensed characters. These appear to be “fruit-flavored snacks” – also known as a box of colored sugar bombs – brought to you by Shaw’s Supermarket and some other brands, although it did take us a few minutes to figure out just what was in the box. Looks more like a shelf of video games. In fact, it looks like maybe you’re buying the character.

Yes, in the cereal aisle. And you thought avoiding the Lucky Charms and Froot Loops at kids’ eye level was enough of a challenge. 

Just another reason to avoid Shaw’s. They have screens blaring infomercials at the checkout counter and over in the meat department, and advertisements on the floor. Takes all the fun out of food shopping. For fun, here’s where I go:
Filed Under: commercialization of childhood, marketing to children
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