A Zoo party full of corporate-sponsored Halloween stunts, baby Air Jordans, the entire breakfast cereal industry, Snapple in the schools. There's enough kid-targeted marketing to make you long for the good old days--when it was just Lurchi the Salamander telling entertaining stories about quality shoes at affordable prices.
Juliet Schor's book, Born to Buy, explores the ingenious omnipotence of corporate marketers who pump our innocent little children full of branded messages in order to sell them just. one. more. thing. Oh, wait; actually, it's in order to get them to "bond with the brand" and buy tons of stuff for life. Sorry, my bad.
The only solution, obviously, to prevent this crass consumerization of our impressionable angels is to guide them and teach them ourselves:
Logos and corporate schlock are tacky, honey; quality workmanship, attention to detail, the finest materials, and exclusivity are the real source of happiness. Plus, they're how other people know you know you're better than they are. That's why you need to identify yourself with the wonderfully understated products of such marques as Bugaboo and Manonia. Or the timeless American classics of Ralph Lauren. Or the decadent luxury and impeccable tailoring of baby cashmere from Princess Marie Chantal of Greece. And that's how you know we love you, because we buy you lots of expensive things--and save you from the mass-market crap.
Buy Born to Buy at Amazon through Daddy Types, so I can support my infant daughter's already highly evolved tastes. [Thanks to DT reader Noah]
