Frugal | The Power of Advertising, as Demonstrated by My Son

The Power of Advertising, as Demonstrated by My Son

Posted by Lynnae on August 17, 2007

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I took the kids grocery shopping this morning. Sam, my four year old, is a huge fan of Nascar. He has the drivers, the car numbers,
and yes even the sponsors memorized. It sometimes makes grocery
shopping an adventure.

This morning’s trip went pretty well until we hit the cereal aisle.
Suddenly from behind me I heard, “Mom! It’s Kelloggs! It’s the Nascar
cereal!” I looked. It was a box of Kelloggs Corn Flakes. We needed cereal anyway, and it wasn’t too expensive. I put it in the cart, thinking he’d be happy.

We continued with our shopping. As we left the meat department and headed to the beverages/frozen foods, Sam started yelling again. “Look Mom!!! COORS!!!!!” I frantically started trying to hush him. I figured people would wonder what kind of mother I am, since my 4 year old was so excited about beer. And we don’t even drink alcoholic beverages in our house. My attempts at quieting my son only made him yell louder. “But Mom! COORS!!!!”

With my face turning a deeper shade of red, I hurried my children through the frozen foods, picked up some milk and eggs, and turned the corner to the ice cream cooler. We were almost done with the shopping trip. I figured I’d heard the last from Sam. Wrong again.

“Mom! It’s the Nascar Ice Cream!!!” I looked. Didn’t see anything. “Where?” I asked, thinking for sure he was wrong this time. He slowly walked down the ice cream aisle until he found it. Nestle Drumsticks. At $4.19 for a small box. “Can we get this?” he sweetly asked. “Nope,” I replied. “It’s way too expensive. It’s not a good use of our money. We are going to get Tillamook ice cream, because it’s on sale.”

The end was in sight. We just had to pick up some bread, and then we could hit the checkout lanes. As I was putting some bread into my cart, I heard my son’s sweet little voice one more time. “TIDE!!!!” I never thought I’d see a 4 year old boy get so excited about laundry detergent. Tired, I sweetly said, “Yes, Sam, that’s Tide.”

I lived through the shopping trip, thankful that my children will be back in school again soon, and I will be able to do the grocery shopping by myself. There are a couple of lessons to be learned from this trip, though.

Shop with a list and stick to it. A big downfall for me this morning is that I ran into the store to pick up a few things, and I didn’t take a list. We ended up picking up Corn Flakes and ice cream that I hadn’t planned on buying. I also forgot a few things that I needed, because I was too busy laughing at Sam’s antics.

If at all possible, don’t take your children shopping with you. They can be a distraction. And let’s face it. When they look at you with their cherub-like faces, begging to buy some special cereal, it’s sometimes hard to say no.

Finally, never underestimate the power of advertising. There’s a reason companies pay big bucks to stick their name on a car going 200 miles an hour around a track. The advertisers want your attention. And they want the attention of your children. They know that when kids beg for things, parents often give in. Why do you think cereal boxes are stuffed with little Nascar cars or license plates? Advertising is all around us, and it’s here to stay. I plan on fighting back by educating my children on the power of advertising. Sam needs to know that just because David Stremme drives the “Coors car” doesn’t mean he needs to drink Coors.

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Comments

4 Responses to “The Power of Advertising, as Demonstrated by My Son”

  1. boomeyers on August 17th, 2007 1:00 pm

    Tee hee hee! Thats like shopping with my husband - “Busch beer!” Just kidding! It is always a bad thing to shop without a list! I forgot mine today and ended up with and without things. Ugh!

  2. Heidi on August 17th, 2007 4:46 pm

    It is hard to shop with kids, but it all can be a learning experience for them too.

  3. Pinyo on August 18th, 2007 1:37 pm

    Ha ha…this story is priceless. I am a NASCAR (it’s an acronym) fan too, but I am grown up enough not to scream Budweiser every time I pass the aisle (I like Dale Jr.) — actually, I don’t drink Bud.

    I am so glad they took away cigarette commercials seeing the type of influence our media has on children even as young as 4 years old.

    Good post, and thanks for sharing.

  4. Astreil on August 23rd, 2007 6:52 am

    Too funny. I have three boys, so I can relate. Alas, we homeschool, so to avoid shopping when I’m dog tired, another budget no-no, all three routinely go with me in the morning. What keeps us sane? The promise of cookies or another yummy snack at the end. This has only had to be revoked a few times due to poor behavior or begging. Finally, the older ones are able to actually help me out from time to time.

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