On October 11th, 2010 Nickelodeon will release a new animated children’s based series, “Zevo-3”. The series includes 3 hero characters all fighting against the evil Stankfoot. A uniquely named villain, I think not. The company behind this new cartoon is Skechers, a renowned footwear store that provides both adult and child footwear. “Zevo-3” was originally a comic handed out with every child shoes sold, with the heroes promoting the shoes bought. This comic however, will now be a television series running in every Nickelodeon-watching home.
Skechers is indirectly advertising towards your children. Whether or not you purchased the shoes, you will be surrounded by characters supporting and promoting a specific brand. The characters are even named after specific shoes. Children are too young to understand the marketing power behind these animations. To scoop as low as to influence the innocent into buying a product is unethical. In promoting a “commercial free childhood”, programs such as this should not be allowed to play on TV. Yes, this is a story line unrelated to Skechers, but the brand and previous advertising through these characters still remains. It’s no wonder consumers destroy the economy; all we do is watch commercials.
Article Link: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/coming-childrens-show-draws-complaints/?ref=business