Canadian Subway restaurant welcomes "screaming kids" after competition doesn't

Via CBC

As a parent, I love this.

It all started when a seafood restaurant in New Sydney, Nova Scotia, decided to let the town know that they are NOT child-friendly:

The local and social media outcry was immediate and effective, and the restaurant issued an apology. 

I'm sure not everyone will agree with me, but I feel very strongly that children have a right to be in public spaces. Their parents have a responsibility to keep them from unnecessarily disrupting other people's peace-of-mind, but the really young ones — especially babies — often cry. Deal with it. You were one once, too. 

It amazes me what a truly family-unfriendly society we are, when I visit countries where children are cherished by the society as a whole. It seems like a much healthier environment for them to grow up in.

Anyway, kudos to local Subway franchisee Kirk MacRae, who told CBC: "We've had a few [screaming kids] and hope to have a lot more, and don't have any issue with it whatsoever."

Let's hope this goes viral in the good way.

Parenting magazine shock advertises with "teen" sexting image (partial nudity)

Don't panic — it's an ad. The models are obviously adults. But is using a titillating image a good idea, even if it's saying "we're against that sort of thing"? It's as if the all-male creative team at Jung von Matt were a little too into this one. As a result, in my opinion, they just end up contributing to the problem of adults fetishizing teen sexuality.

The other two ads in the campaign are also shocking, but for different reasons:

These ads are not designed to sell parenting magazines. They are designed to get attention for the creatives and their agency. Mission... accomplished. You creeps.

Images via Ads of The World

Luvs loves breastfeeding moms

Not only is it a nice, socially-responsible consumer ad. It's also well-targeted and pushes forward a single-minded message that experienced moms choose their product.



Okay, you can tell me that disposable diapers aren't socially responsible. But I'm not convinced washing and bleaching cloth ones is all that much more enviro. Disagree with me if you want (I know my very baby-experienced sister does) but it's still a good ad.

There are three more (unembeddable) ads in the series, about rectal thermometers, transporting babies, and of course diaper changing. It's a refreshing change from their exploding diapers campaign.

Put your baby to sleep with a hairdryer?

I'm trying to figure out these Ogilvy Poland ads for Philips hairdryers. Apparently, "white noise" is good for putting kids to sleep. But putting a corded, heat-producing device in a crib and turning it on?

Reminds me of this campaign:

...in a bad way.

Via Ads of The World

Time cover features preschooler breastfeeding

Via BuzzFeed

So that was unexpected.

As the United States continues to struggle with the social and health issues around breastfeeding, Time Magazine decides to run a cover photo of a nursing three-year-old.

It's for a piece on attachment parenting, which we practice to some extent at our house (even though the boy weaned himself at about 20 months). I'm sure the picture is meant to shock some people who think breastfeeding a kid old enough to talk is weird or even perverse.

"Supermom" Jamie Lynne Grumet (the woman in the picture) told Huffington Post:

“When you think of breast-feeding, you think of mothers holding their children, which was impossible with some of these older kids. I liked the idea of having the kids standing up to underline the point that this was an uncommon situation.”

But hey — in the struggle to normalize natural baby feeding, such a prominent portrayal can only help.

My only question is, now that breastfeeding is considered "SFW" enough for the cover of Time, can Facebook stop calling it "obscene"?

See more photos from the shoot here.

What the hell is in this baby formula?

Copy says, "New! A natural solution that keeps your facial skin revitalized. A better sleep for your baby with Materna's Good Night infant formula."

Does it have Benadryl in it? Gravol? Morphine? According to this source, the secret ingredient is "special composition of carbohydrates, giving the baby a longer feeling of fullness."

What a terrible idea. Babies wake up and cry because they aren't really supposed to be left alone. (Think about it — in a state of nature, they'd be eaten by wolves.)

I understand that not everyone can or wants to breastfeed or cosleep. But an ad promoting a formula that keeps your inconvenient baby quiet so you can get your beauty sleep really irks me. It's playing to selfishness and vanity.

By JWT, Tel Aviv, Israel

Via Ads of The World

Is this what childhood has come to?

I get the ads. I just hate them.

Why? Because they are telling the truth about what these little boxes do to kids. They isolate them from normal external and social stimulus and make them into obsessive couch potatoes.

Many parents might love the convenience of plugging your kid into personal digital media. Hey, they aren't running around causing trouble. They aren't talking at you non-stop. They aren't really asking for anything, except the latest game and some Kraft Dinner once in a while.

But you know what? Kids are supposed to be hard work. They learn by asking, interacting, and getting into all kinds of real world mayhem.

Yes, some games can reinforce mental skills, coordination, etc. But so does being in touch with the outside world. Kids need the right mix of both to grow up healthy and happy.

These ads may be intended as funny, but they're way too close to the reality I see around me to make me chuckle.

Ads via IBIA.

F'd Ad Fridays: Vodacom gives us hot cloaca porn

(click to enlarge and read)

Ironic that an ad warning parents about the perversity of the internet should feature the most explicit and twisted interspecies erotica I've seen in, like, at least an hour.

Via Copyranter

Brand Flakes

(With apologies to Brand Flakes for Breakfast)

The Consumerist today reported on a study from the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication that simply validated every parent's fears: that kids are total suckers for branding.

The study itself is actually four years old, but I'm pretty sure little has changed:

Children who saw a popular media character on the box reported liking the cereal more (mean [SD], 4.70 [0.86]) than those who viewed a box with no character on it (4.16 [1.24]). Those who were told the cereal was named Healthy Bits liked the taste more (mean [SD], 4.65 [0.84]) than children who were told it was named Sugar Bits (4.22 [1.27]). Character presence was particularly influential on taste assessments for participants who were told the cereal was named Sugar Bits.

In other words Tony the Tiger, Toucan Sam, the Trix Rabbit, and all those other imaginary dudes have more influence over your children's dietary preferences than you do, and you were right to try to fool them into eating healthier food.

Parents, schmarents! Let's set sail for tooth decay and obesity, kids!

Of course, it's not only kids who are the brand victims. We all are. That's why only Coke will ever taste like Coke, even if the secret recipe is out. Or why trying to clone your favourite fast foods at home is pointless. (And kind of weird.) Our world is the world as we perceive it, and brands often guide our lazy perceptions by providing a short-cut to memory, emotion and experience.

That's the reason competitors to top brands use the blind taste test. You have to block the branding if you want a more accurate comparison. But you'll still have to battle for mindshare on the supermarket aisle.

If this makes you want to admit defeat as a parent, don't.

I have a six-year-old who consistently tells me that McDonald's burgers are better than my naturally-raised, local, aged patties cooked over charcoal. He prefers Kraft Dinner to homemade Mac and Cheese. And he'd rather eat candy than fruit. But that doesn't mean he gets to eat whatever he wants. Those things are given sparingly, as treats, while we keep putting healthy meals in front of him. He eats real food, and quite often enjoys it, even as he pines for the branded foods he sees on TV. But YMMV.

Eurobesity

Yesterday, the European Union Agriculture Commissioner launched a healthy eating program for kids throughout the EU.

According to coverage from the CBC, the EU estimates that 22 million European children who are overweight, and five million are obese. (That's one overweight child for every 22.7 people, versus the United States' one in every 12.2.)

Here's the EU's own description of the program (note targetted countries):

The Healthy Eating Campaign will run alongside the EU’s School Fruit Scheme and School Milk Scheme – important initiatives for a more balanced diet and healthier eating habits amongst children.

The Healthy Eating Campaign takes the message: Eat it, Drink it, Move it right into schools. Over the course of eight weeks, the roadshow will travel through Belgium, France, the UK, Ireland, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland. Each roadshow will visit two schools a day. In total the healthy eating activities will reach 18 000 kids in 180 schools. The message to deliver is: Eat well, because it’s fun to be fit.

In parallel with the roadshow, an interactive treasure hunt game will be running over the 8 weeks on the EU's Tasty Bunch web site, where all EU schoolchildren aged 8 to 15 could try to win a number of sports items.

A recent Eurobarometer survey showed three quarters of respondents “totally agreeing” that “there seem to be more overweight children these days than five years ago". Indeed, around 22 million kids are overweight in the EU, of which 5 million are obese.

As a social marketer, I applaud this effort to put nutritional information in children's hands. But as a parent, I doubt it will have much impact.

I strongly believe that healthy eating habits start at home, by ensuring your child is exposed to a wide variety of tasty and healthy homemade foods, and teaching them some basic cooking skills. This helps set their appetites in the right direction, and I hope that making my son a foodie from a young age will provide some protection from the endless temptations of junk food once he's "out there" on his own.

I could be overconfident about how well my clever plan will work in the long run, but regardless I think that campaigns for healthier eating at school are doomed if the kids go home to crappy convenience food every night. If all you eat is sugar, salt and fat, everything else is going to taste less appealing.

What do you think?