You know that moment when people talk about how our treatment towards kids is so different than it was “when we were kids?” You might hear someone over the age of 30 say something like, “I used to wear flip flops to ride my bicycle without a helmet, and would stay gone from morning until mom turned the porch light on at supper time, all without a cell phone. And I lived to tell about it.”
After I read the opinion article Fear Temptations: Jell-O’s New Approach is Scary! , I had one of these moments.
This editorial claims that America is in an uproar over the context of the recent Jell-O TV commercials. There is a new commercial series showing children how scary things will happen if they eat the TEMPTATIONS by Jell-O, thereby leaving all the treats for mommy & daddy to enjoy. (Check out the “Chocobeast” here: after the video ends, you will see links for all the other TEMPTATIONS commercials). Apparently, American parents are horrified and children are terrified by the super scary plot of these ads, resulting in a loss of regular customers and sales.
You have got to be kidding me?!?
I am a parent of two small children in a normal, dysfunctional family. I find the commercials witty and amusing. They have carved a new path for a product with a different image than the traditional “watch it wiggle, see it jiggle.” I do not allow my kids to watch horror flicks, like Saw or Friday the 13th; however I can tell you that even my scary-movie deprived children do not find these commercials frightening. At ages 6 & 8, they already find them funny – in fact, understanding why it’s humorous. While I will not change the mindsets of millions of “helicopter” hovering parents in commercial America with my quick blog entry, I at least want to send Jell-O my kudos for selecting a great commercial campaign and sticking with it despite all the naysayers.
On that note, I am going to go find some scissors to run with, sit six inches from the TV, and eat a non-organic Jell-O Temptation before dinner…you know, to ruin my appetite.
