Column: Irony and pity

An old boss of mine shared with me an anecdote about her young nephew. The boy had overheard his parents arguing over finances, and naturally he wanted them to stop. He opened the door to the room in which they were arguing and profoundly stated he had the answer to their problems: debt consolidation.

Be not fooled; this boy was no seven-year old financial prodigy. His knowledge was derived solely from a thirty second commercial that probably interrupted his after- school cartoons.

I wondered about the way this commercial had stuck in the memory of the child. He may not have known what debt consolidation was, but he knew that whatever it was, it fixed money problems.

I was reminded of this story when I read about "pester power." The term is used to describe the ways marketers endorse their products through the relentless way children nag their parents for goods. Not only do marketers recognize this behavior in children, they target and thrive from it. The goal is to appeal to a child so intensely that a child will whine and beg to receive a certain product.

Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser, discusses "pester power" and other marketing initiatives directed at children. According to the book, the synergy of marketing executives and psychologists is becoming increasingly common. The goal is to explore and understand the psyche of children and direct products to children based on the results. The research includes observation, dream interpretations, interviews, and the creation of kids' clubs.

There is an ethical defect in this marketing trend. Not only is it invasive, it is manipulative and far too noticeably resembles brainwashing to be ethically acceptable.

Marketers are manipulating the innocence and newness of a child's mind to create brand loyalty.

The irony is that I am a declared marketing major.

Excavating the minds of children for the purpose of controlling their behavior as consumers is unethical. I wonder how difficult is it to remain loyal to my ethics and still make a living. When I am not the boss and someone else is calling the shots, are ethics the opportunity cost of a paycheck?

"In studies where consumers are asked about ethics in different professions, advertising executives are ranked low," said Elaine Hollensbe, assistant professor in the Department of Management in the College of Business.

"In the last decade, businesses have become aware of their social responsibility to give back and behave ethically," said Hollensbe. "Companies are starting to realize that it is not profitable to be unethical. There are a lot of watchdogs out there now."

The American Marketing Association has a code of ethics that ambiguously addresses their responsibility in marketing toward children. It states, "We will recognize our special commitments to economically vulnerable segments of the market such as children, the elderly and others who may be substantially disadvantaged."

Diction makes the intentions of this statement rather cryptic. The statement would better address the manipulation of child consumers if "mentally" was substituted for "economically." A deceitful code of ethics? How ironic.