I recently read an article in a publication from England about kids being used to hock product. Children as young as seven years old are being recruited to talk about Sprite, Barbie-themed MP3 players, Nintendo, snack foods, and specific musical artists on their Facebook pages, on message boards, and in instant messages. Apparently, marketing firms coach these "mini marketeers" on how to insert products into everyday conversations without sounding rehearsed. For their time, the kids earn about $37 U.S. dollars a week. I don't know about you, but this just seems wrong on all kinds of levels. Yes, I completely get that marketing professionals need to constantly find new ways to reach their audiences, but using kids to pimp string cheese and Lady Gaga records? There has got to be a better way...
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