Project
Campaign to educate parents on the woes of television and their children.
Prepared by:
MaryAnn Wright
Travis Gerrard
Approved by:
Too Much TV
Overview
Parents don’t know all of the facts about what allowing their children to watch on TV will do to their development as they grow. We want to show them what the TV really does.
The Objective
To lessen the amount of television that children 0-4yo watch by showing parents the facts they may not know about how television affects their growing children.
Target Audience
20-30 year old parents with children 0-4 years old.
They are being told by corporations and media that educational television and clean television is actually good for their children.
Important Thing to Include
Television permanently changes the way that neural pathways develop in children, and these pathways stop developing around the age of three.
Reasons to Act or Believe
Will affect future behaviors in children
Affect child development
Be even better parents
Mandatory Elements
Cite sources
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
What's changed
We've narrowed down our target audience, which will make presenting content easier. We've also changed our approach. Instead of challenging the parents, we're going with a more relaxed approach by letting the parents decide. This is, in our eyes, going to make the parents more open to hearing what's being said and prompt them to consider our message further.
Creative (so far)
Project
Campaign to educate parents on the woes of television and their children.
Prepared by:
MaryAnn Wright
Travis Gerrard
Approved by:
Too Much TV
Overview
Parents don’t know what allowing their children to watch TV will do to their development as they grow. We want to show them what the TV really does.
The Objective
To lessen the amount of television that children 0-4yo watch by showing parents the consequences television will have on their children.
Target Audience
20-30 year old parents with children 0-4 years old.
They are being told by corporations and media that educational television and clean television is good for their children.
Important Thing to Include
No matter the program, educational or not, television will delay development in infants and toddlers.
Reasons to Act or Believe
Will affect future behaviors
Affect child development
Be even better parents
Mandatory Elements
Cite sources
Campaign to educate parents on the woes of television and their children.
Prepared by:
MaryAnn Wright
Travis Gerrard
Approved by:
Too Much TV
Overview
Parents don’t know what allowing their children to watch TV will do to their development as they grow. We want to show them what the TV really does.
The Objective
To lessen the amount of television that children 0-4yo watch by showing parents the consequences television will have on their children.
Target Audience
20-30 year old parents with children 0-4 years old.
They are being told by corporations and media that educational television and clean television is good for their children.
Important Thing to Include
No matter the program, educational or not, television will delay development in infants and toddlers.
Reasons to Act or Believe
Will affect future behaviors
Affect child development
Be even better parents
Mandatory Elements
Cite sources
2000 words (again)
He was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. His weight was so slight, yet so substantial. He had beautiful blue eyes and the cutest chubby cheeks. He was looking around with his huge eyes, seeing things for the first time ever. It was his cries that made it hit home: they’d made this little person. All those months working up to this moment. The yelling, screaming, eating, crying, laughing. It was all worth it, just for this one moment. He was weighed in at seven pounds, three ounces, and had no obvious defects. A perfect baby boy.
The months before were full of worry and uncertainty. They did their best to prepare for their baby, but had no idea if they were on the right track, and often questioned their actions and choices. Their main concern was if they would be good parents. Both were children of unhappy marriages, and so they had no idea where to begin. They read books, made connections with other parents, and learned what they could. All this to ensure that the past wasn’t repeated.
But, as she held their son, she forgot those worries. She loved him so much, she had no doubt that they’d be better parents. They’d learn as they went, and she knew they had what it would take. She felt as though her entire life was training her for this moment, and she didn’t plan on messing it up.
When her husband held their son for the first time, his heart stopped when he consciously realized that this was his son. His son. A beautiful boy. He’d do all he could to make sure that this beautiful boy grew up to be a strong and good man, and he’d make sure that his son had the best that they could provide.
–––
As the weeks passed, the feeling slowly receded and leveled off at a point where it was still there, but was more down-to-earth. They were exhausted, but still excited to be parents (although they occasionally forgot that bit). They slowly began to get into a routine and grow used to being called parents.
As the days past, they could only wait for their son to start sleeping through the night, and hope he wasn’t one of those babies who took six months to start sleeping five hours straight.
–––
A few weeks later, a friend recommended that they look into educational DVDs for when their new son gets older. It sounded like a good idea to them, so they started doing some research. They saw what the DVDs had to offer and liked what they were seeing. Parents raved about how they occupied and educated their children. They saw nothing to make them think the DVDs might be harmful, and so they began researching specific brands and DVDs
They’d both agreed to wait until later to get the DVDs, deciding that there was no rush or money. They did, however, decide on a brand to start off with. Baby Einstein was highly recommended and even had a developmental expert give her two cents on their website, so they were sold on the product.
–––
As their son got older, they started getting more sleep. He was also extremely interested in the TV. He liked watching the pictures and hearing some of the funny noises it made, but they were concerned about letting him watch any shows on basic cable. They both agreed to keep the TV off around him, as difficult as that proved to be.
As a happy compromise, they decided it might be a good time to invest in those DVDs. He’d get to look at the pictures and hear the sounds while still being sheltered, and even learning. They’d be able to direct their focus elsewhere while he was occupied and they wouldn’t have to worry every passing second. To them, it was a win-win situation.
It turned out exactly as they’d hoped: he enjoyed the DVDs they’d bought for him, and they had a little extra time a day to simply rest. They made sure he didn’t spend too much time watching the DVDs, but still allotted enough time to give an appreciable break in their day.
–––
The routine went on until he was 15 months old. They started to grow worried over their son’s development as they realized he wasn’t communicating, even non-verbally, as much as they would have expected. Even with that concern, they decided to wait to get a specialist involved. Many children held off speaking until they turned two, so it was probably that he was simply slower than others.
Their idea of waiting was cut short in a slightly unexpected way. While browsing a website one day, the mom was redirected to a full-page online advertisement that quickly caught her attention. It wasn’t advertising any product or marketing a name. Instead, it was selling an idea, and it quickly drew her in. The advertisement factually stated the results of several studies regarding children and television, focusing heavily on infants and toddlers.
What really concerned her was the line saying that educational television has little benefit for anyone under the age of two, and that television in general hindered brain activity, no matter how interactive it may be.
Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure about Baby Einstein.
Being concerned and wanting to know more, she followed the link in the advertisement and ended up on a blog. The very first thing was a video stating further information using visual and audio content. The blog listed all the recent studies and evidence of the effects of television on children, and offered alternatives to using TV as an outlet and teacher. It was presented in a very simple format, with easy to understand language.
Instead of imploring parents to stop showing their children TV programs, it laid out the facts, cited the sources, and let the parents decide for themselves.
She did further research, fearing bias from the site, and found the information to be accurate. She decided that it would be better for their son to learn from his parents and others instead of leaving him to the television.
–––
When her husband returned from work that night, she showed him the website. He wasn’t quite sold on the idea, so he told her he’d think about it.
As time passed, he did more and more research, and eventually admitted that his wife was right. They decided to give their son’s DVDs to the Salvation Army and teach him without the help of the TV.
–––
Their son said his first words... and sentence... and paragraph at 25 months. And then he just wouldn’t shut up. At the very least, there were no more fears of birth defects or hindering his growth. They took comfort in this, even if they never got another moment’s silence.
When he was three years old, he got a baby sister. This time, they kept away from the DVDs and decided to teach her through interaction and let her learn from her toys.
Through hard work, they kept their children from spending large amounts of time in front of the television. They didn’t repeat their parents’ mistakes and kept involved in their children’s lives, and their children turned out to be everything they’d hoped for. Good, honest, and intelligent people.
The months before were full of worry and uncertainty. They did their best to prepare for their baby, but had no idea if they were on the right track, and often questioned their actions and choices. Their main concern was if they would be good parents. Both were children of unhappy marriages, and so they had no idea where to begin. They read books, made connections with other parents, and learned what they could. All this to ensure that the past wasn’t repeated.
But, as she held their son, she forgot those worries. She loved him so much, she had no doubt that they’d be better parents. They’d learn as they went, and she knew they had what it would take. She felt as though her entire life was training her for this moment, and she didn’t plan on messing it up.
When her husband held their son for the first time, his heart stopped when he consciously realized that this was his son. His son. A beautiful boy. He’d do all he could to make sure that this beautiful boy grew up to be a strong and good man, and he’d make sure that his son had the best that they could provide.
–––
As the weeks passed, the feeling slowly receded and leveled off at a point where it was still there, but was more down-to-earth. They were exhausted, but still excited to be parents (although they occasionally forgot that bit). They slowly began to get into a routine and grow used to being called parents.
As the days past, they could only wait for their son to start sleeping through the night, and hope he wasn’t one of those babies who took six months to start sleeping five hours straight.
–––
A few weeks later, a friend recommended that they look into educational DVDs for when their new son gets older. It sounded like a good idea to them, so they started doing some research. They saw what the DVDs had to offer and liked what they were seeing. Parents raved about how they occupied and educated their children. They saw nothing to make them think the DVDs might be harmful, and so they began researching specific brands and DVDs
They’d both agreed to wait until later to get the DVDs, deciding that there was no rush or money. They did, however, decide on a brand to start off with. Baby Einstein was highly recommended and even had a developmental expert give her two cents on their website, so they were sold on the product.
–––
As their son got older, they started getting more sleep. He was also extremely interested in the TV. He liked watching the pictures and hearing some of the funny noises it made, but they were concerned about letting him watch any shows on basic cable. They both agreed to keep the TV off around him, as difficult as that proved to be.
As a happy compromise, they decided it might be a good time to invest in those DVDs. He’d get to look at the pictures and hear the sounds while still being sheltered, and even learning. They’d be able to direct their focus elsewhere while he was occupied and they wouldn’t have to worry every passing second. To them, it was a win-win situation.
It turned out exactly as they’d hoped: he enjoyed the DVDs they’d bought for him, and they had a little extra time a day to simply rest. They made sure he didn’t spend too much time watching the DVDs, but still allotted enough time to give an appreciable break in their day.
–––
The routine went on until he was 15 months old. They started to grow worried over their son’s development as they realized he wasn’t communicating, even non-verbally, as much as they would have expected. Even with that concern, they decided to wait to get a specialist involved. Many children held off speaking until they turned two, so it was probably that he was simply slower than others.
Their idea of waiting was cut short in a slightly unexpected way. While browsing a website one day, the mom was redirected to a full-page online advertisement that quickly caught her attention. It wasn’t advertising any product or marketing a name. Instead, it was selling an idea, and it quickly drew her in. The advertisement factually stated the results of several studies regarding children and television, focusing heavily on infants and toddlers.
What really concerned her was the line saying that educational television has little benefit for anyone under the age of two, and that television in general hindered brain activity, no matter how interactive it may be.
Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure about Baby Einstein.
Being concerned and wanting to know more, she followed the link in the advertisement and ended up on a blog. The very first thing was a video stating further information using visual and audio content. The blog listed all the recent studies and evidence of the effects of television on children, and offered alternatives to using TV as an outlet and teacher. It was presented in a very simple format, with easy to understand language.
Instead of imploring parents to stop showing their children TV programs, it laid out the facts, cited the sources, and let the parents decide for themselves.
She did further research, fearing bias from the site, and found the information to be accurate. She decided that it would be better for their son to learn from his parents and others instead of leaving him to the television.
–––
When her husband returned from work that night, she showed him the website. He wasn’t quite sold on the idea, so he told her he’d think about it.
As time passed, he did more and more research, and eventually admitted that his wife was right. They decided to give their son’s DVDs to the Salvation Army and teach him without the help of the TV.
–––
Their son said his first words... and sentence... and paragraph at 25 months. And then he just wouldn’t shut up. At the very least, there were no more fears of birth defects or hindering his growth. They took comfort in this, even if they never got another moment’s silence.
When he was three years old, he got a baby sister. This time, they kept away from the DVDs and decided to teach her through interaction and let her learn from her toys.
Through hard work, they kept their children from spending large amounts of time in front of the television. They didn’t repeat their parents’ mistakes and kept involved in their children’s lives, and their children turned out to be everything they’d hoped for. Good, honest, and intelligent people.
Challenge Question and Target
How do we gently educate parents on the effects that television has on their infant(s)/toddler(s) to reduce how much TV these children are exposed to?
Target: 20-30 year old parents with children 0-4 years old.
Target: 20-30 year old parents with children 0-4 years old.
Client Brief v2
Project Title: Too Much TV
Project Type: Public Service Announcement
June 1st, 2009
Agency Team
MaryAnn Wright
Travis Gerrard
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Current Situation: Parents are unaware of the harmful effects that television programs designed for infants and toddlers may have on them.
WHERE DO WE WANT TO BE?
To ... Parents should understand what the TV does, and, because of that understanding, avoid allowing infants to watch any television, and heavily limit the television that toddlers are allowed to watch.
HOW WILL WE KNOW WE'VE ARRIVED?
Measurement of: How many viewers there are for children's shows.
WHAT ARE WE DOING TO GET THERE?
Marketing Strategy
We plan to achieve our objective(s) by: Informing parents of why infants and toddlers should not watch TV.
Campaign Strategy
Key Messages: Delays verbal development, hinders creation and stimulation of neural pathways, reduces familial interaction
Key Media: Web based media.
WHO DO WE NEED TO TALK TO?
Definition of target group: 20-30yo parents of children ages 0-4.
Insights into this target group: Too busy to dedicate time to learning about this without a proper hook.
PRACTICALITIES AND APPROVALS
Budgets: N/A
Timings: Pitch June 10th
Project Type: Public Service Announcement
June 1st, 2009
Agency Team
MaryAnn Wright
Travis Gerrard
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Current Situation: Parents are unaware of the harmful effects that television programs designed for infants and toddlers may have on them.
WHERE DO WE WANT TO BE?
To ... Parents should understand what the TV does, and, because of that understanding, avoid allowing infants to watch any television, and heavily limit the television that toddlers are allowed to watch.
HOW WILL WE KNOW WE'VE ARRIVED?
Measurement of: How many viewers there are for children's shows.
WHAT ARE WE DOING TO GET THERE?
Marketing Strategy
We plan to achieve our objective(s) by: Informing parents of why infants and toddlers should not watch TV.
Campaign Strategy
Key Messages: Delays verbal development, hinders creation and stimulation of neural pathways, reduces familial interaction
Key Media: Web based media.
WHO DO WE NEED TO TALK TO?
Definition of target group: 20-30yo parents of children ages 0-4.
Insights into this target group: Too busy to dedicate time to learning about this without a proper hook.
PRACTICALITIES AND APPROVALS
Budgets: N/A
Timings: Pitch June 10th
*NEW* 180-90-10
Focused in on the target audience.
---
Development is stunted when Infants and toddlers watch television on a regular basis. This is a critical stage of development and requires neural activity to create more pathways. Television, no matter the show, will hinder this development.
Even when watching as a family, this occurs. The only way to prevent it is to continue interacting while the television is playing. Children hear less words from their parents, which is linked to the children learning to speak later than average. Even though they hear it on the TV, they’re still not picking up on the meanings or responding to their surroundings.
Studies have shown that even though a program may be designed for children, it is no substitute for real world interaction. Programs designed for infants have no educational or developmental value what so ever. In fact, children under two who watch television are being held back.
Every hour an infant watches television, it’s estimated that they learn six to eight fewer words than infants who spent that time interacting with real people.
Since 30% of Americans report having the television always on, even when no one is watching, we can safely say that a considerable amount of children are receiving an unhealthy dose of television, whether unintentional or not.
---
When infants and toddlers what television, their development is stunted. Neural pathways are inactive, and new ones are not being created as they should be. It doesn’t matter how interactive the show, the brain is still inactive.
Parents are also less likely to interact with their children while watching the television, and the children are less likely to vocalize anything. This causes measurable delays in language development.
Even programs designed for children are detrimental to their development. Studies show that children under the age of two receive no benefit from watching any television, and are instead being delayed developmentally by it.
---
Know what the TV does to children and make informed decisions. (re-rewritten)
---
Development is stunted when Infants and toddlers watch television on a regular basis. This is a critical stage of development and requires neural activity to create more pathways. Television, no matter the show, will hinder this development.
Even when watching as a family, this occurs. The only way to prevent it is to continue interacting while the television is playing. Children hear less words from their parents, which is linked to the children learning to speak later than average. Even though they hear it on the TV, they’re still not picking up on the meanings or responding to their surroundings.
Studies have shown that even though a program may be designed for children, it is no substitute for real world interaction. Programs designed for infants have no educational or developmental value what so ever. In fact, children under two who watch television are being held back.
Every hour an infant watches television, it’s estimated that they learn six to eight fewer words than infants who spent that time interacting with real people.
Since 30% of Americans report having the television always on, even when no one is watching, we can safely say that a considerable amount of children are receiving an unhealthy dose of television, whether unintentional or not.
---
When infants and toddlers what television, their development is stunted. Neural pathways are inactive, and new ones are not being created as they should be. It doesn’t matter how interactive the show, the brain is still inactive.
Parents are also less likely to interact with their children while watching the television, and the children are less likely to vocalize anything. This causes measurable delays in language development.
Even programs designed for children are detrimental to their development. Studies show that children under the age of two receive no benefit from watching any television, and are instead being delayed developmentally by it.
---
Know what the TV does to children and make informed decisions. (re-rewritten)
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Week Six Part Two - 2,000 Words
Or close enough.
Target: Parents of young children, ages 25-35.
Subjects: Two parents, with two young children.
---
He had just finished yelling at another employee. Just because you were told to do something stupid by someone else doesn’t mean you should. If he took his eyes off of his employees, he was sure they’d all get themselves killed somehow. This last incident involved being stupid on a forklift. His voice was already going hoarse from that yelling, and the day wasn’t yet half over. At least he could comfort himself with the knowledge that the kid deserved it, and maybe learned something from it.
He went back to his office to start figuring out the schedules for next week. It wasn’t his job, but the person who was supposed to be doing it had suddenly decided to quit without warning. If he’d known this would happen, he would have gotten started sooner. It was halfway through the week, and the schedule was finally nearly done. His employees were more volatile than usual because of the late schedule. Most were trying to make plans, but not knowing your schedule makes that a bit difficult.
After finishing the schedule, he had to go back out and make sure no one decided to break anything. Sometimes he considered firing everyone and starting over, but knew that wasn’t a viable option. Hiring new people would just mean even more work.
He wished he could get a break. Even home was a stressful place. A baby and a three year old. And a wife who was just as exhausted as he was. They were both about to crack. There was so much to do and so little energy to do it. Keeping the house clean and his son from screaming over something was hard enough. He was glad that they didn’t have any pets.
---
Tired. She was so tired. Everything seemed to be moving in fast forward; she just couldn’t keep up. There was so much to do, but her mind was mush. Her fingers had frozen over her keyboard. She had no idea what she was supposed to write in this field she’d filled in thousands of times before. It took her several minutes to finally remember, only to stall on the next field.
It was this stop and go routine she’d been going through all day. Lunch was her only reprieve, and even that was disappointing. Her sandwich was peanut butter and tuna, a combination she’d decided she hated. She needed to start drinking coffee; it’s not a good sign when you mix two things like that together in the morning.
She had to be at work at eight every weekday morning, but her eldest had to be at school by 7:20, which meant she had to get up forty minutes earlier. More precious sleep lost. If only her husband didn’t have to work at seven. It probably wouldn’t be so bad if her eight month old would start sleeping through the night. She was lucky if she got two hours of sleep.
She was at her wits end. Life was exhausting no matter where she went. Her children demanded attention that she didn’t have the energy to give, work demanded deadlines she wasn’t lucid enough to meet, and her husband wanted dinner at six sharp.
She wished she could just lie down and sleep forever.
---
Finally, his day was over. After driving home for an hour, he finally opened his car door. Removing his things, he scuffled to the house, too exhausted to walk properly. It took him three tries to get the key in the slot, and then a moment to realize he was turning it the wrong way. After entering, he relieved the babysitter, paying her for her time. Both he and his wife were grateful to have found someone they could trust their daughter with. They’d had a few bad experiences with babysitters and their son when he was an infant.
His son didn’t even notice he was home. The TV was on and playing cartoons. He didn’t really care to watch cartoons, so he took the remote and changed it to NCIS, ignoring the protests of his son. He was too tired to care, and he really liked this show. Tom and Jerry wasn’t really all that engaging, and it had probably been playing all day.
His wife would probably be home in fifteen minutes anyway. His son wouldn’t have to wait long to regain control of the television.
---
She was finally able to clock out. She hadn’t gotten much work done, but her boss was very understanding. She was fortunate that her boss was a mother herself, otherwise she’d probably be out of a job, and they wouldn’t be able to afford the mortgage. She couldn’t imagine living in an apartment with two kids. No escape from the noise that comes with parenthood. Sometimes she wondered why she’d wanted children before. That question only lasted for a moment though, as she truly was glad to be a mother, and loved her children. Even if she occasionally wanted to lock them in their bedrooms forever.
They were just so tiring.
She left work and drove home. Unlike her husband, it was a very short drive, lasting only ten minutes. She considered that a very good thing, as she was concerned she would lose focus and hit something. She didn’t, but it was always a constant fear now that she had another infant at home.
Pulling into the driveway, she thanked God that she didn’t run anyone over, and that the house was still standing. She exited the car and, much like her husband, scuffled to the door, which was unlocked.
The TV was on in the family room, and their son was playing alone with wooden blocks while occasionally glancing at the TV. She asked her husband to help cook, and he got up, giving their son the remote. He eagerly switched the TV to Justice League and lost awareness to the world around him.
After a few mix ups, they finally had the ingredients right. The meat was cut properly, the oven was up to temperature. Twenty minutes after they started making it, dinner was in the oven. Mom and dad sat with son and daughter. Their daughter was sleeping in her mother’s arms, and their son was sandwiched between both parents. They were watching a family sitcom.
After dinner, they watched another hour of TV. This time, they threw in Aladdin for their son’s sake. He stayed fairly quiet for most of it, having realized that his parents don’t like it when he asks “why” about everything in the movie.
After the movie was over, everyone went to bed with thoughts of flying carpets and genies in their heads.
---
Several years past. The parents finally were able to get sleep again with the occasional interruption. They never quite broke out of the routine they established in their exhaustion. Both son and daughter watched several hours of TV a day. They watched sitcoms with their parents, and cartoons with the babysitter.
The TV kept them quiet and happy, which made the parents happy. They’d rather the children watch TV over bicker over stupid things, which they still occasionally did.
To the parents, the TV was a babysitter. Only every couple of weeks was the TV left off for an entire day.
The few times the parents tried to interrupt their television, the children protested loudly. They generally gave up, too tired to fight. They didn’t see the harm in letting them watch TV as long as the kids still got exercise.
They added another tradition as the years had progressed: dinner was now held in the family room in front of the TV. It was easier to please the children that way, and they were more likely to eat their peas when their attention was fully on the TV.
The potential harm these habits could be causing never crossed their minds.
---
Two weeks out of the year, they went camping. They owned a large tent with two rooms in it. The kids were given one, the parents had the other. This was the only time of year that the children received their parents’ attention without distractions. Both children and parents anticipated this trip every year, all year.
They played, hiked, and learned about the wild. Their parents even let them help cook and set up the tent. They felt like a true family.
Only two weeks out of the year did the parents have time for their children. They would discipline and teach them at home, but never do anything fun with them. It was just too hard to balance everything. It was only during these trips that they realized how fun it could be to play with their children.
---
Another year passed. The routine remained the same. The children were allowed to watch more shows as they got older, and were used to watching cop shows with their parents.
It wasn’t until the parents received an email from a friend that things changed.
She was reading her email when she noticed one from one of her former coworkers. The woman had become a mother herself in the past few years, but was single. The email was sent by her friend because it was something that had apparently changed her friend’s parenting methods. She didn’t really care to change anything, but read through it anyway.
At the end was a link to a video. She clicked it. The video was about how television affects children in the long run. It stated things like how it would make them more violent and disrespectful, how young children didn’t understand that commercials were trying to sell something, and how it disrupted social development.
She hadn’t really thought about it before. It was a concern she’d moved to the back of her mind. Something she didn’t have time to consider. Seeing it presented to her now, however, changed her mind. She was putting things together. Her son was one of the more disruptive members of his class, and would often think that the parents had little authority over him. He didn’t have many friends, so it wasn’t them encouraging this behavior. It was the television.
She asked her husband to watch the video.
He started it with the same thoughts as his wife. They were going fine as they were. The kids were a little rowdy, but controllable. However, halfway through the video, thoughts changed. The kids were more than a little rowdy, and the television was at the heart of it. The family worshipped the television.
Things had to change.
---
It took a while for the children to understand, but they finally united as a family. Immediately after watching the video, television was banned for an entire month. After that, the children were only allowed 45 minutes a day of supervised television. They were allowed to save up their minutes and watch a movie instead.
Instead of worshipping the TV, the parents started spending more time with their children. They’d play with them and encourage them. Even though they were tired, they wanted to give their kids the best. The children got used to not watching the television and enjoyed the attention their parents gave them.
They were finally a family.
Target: Parents of young children, ages 25-35.
Subjects: Two parents, with two young children.
---
He had just finished yelling at another employee. Just because you were told to do something stupid by someone else doesn’t mean you should. If he took his eyes off of his employees, he was sure they’d all get themselves killed somehow. This last incident involved being stupid on a forklift. His voice was already going hoarse from that yelling, and the day wasn’t yet half over. At least he could comfort himself with the knowledge that the kid deserved it, and maybe learned something from it.
He went back to his office to start figuring out the schedules for next week. It wasn’t his job, but the person who was supposed to be doing it had suddenly decided to quit without warning. If he’d known this would happen, he would have gotten started sooner. It was halfway through the week, and the schedule was finally nearly done. His employees were more volatile than usual because of the late schedule. Most were trying to make plans, but not knowing your schedule makes that a bit difficult.
After finishing the schedule, he had to go back out and make sure no one decided to break anything. Sometimes he considered firing everyone and starting over, but knew that wasn’t a viable option. Hiring new people would just mean even more work.
He wished he could get a break. Even home was a stressful place. A baby and a three year old. And a wife who was just as exhausted as he was. They were both about to crack. There was so much to do and so little energy to do it. Keeping the house clean and his son from screaming over something was hard enough. He was glad that they didn’t have any pets.
---
Tired. She was so tired. Everything seemed to be moving in fast forward; she just couldn’t keep up. There was so much to do, but her mind was mush. Her fingers had frozen over her keyboard. She had no idea what she was supposed to write in this field she’d filled in thousands of times before. It took her several minutes to finally remember, only to stall on the next field.
It was this stop and go routine she’d been going through all day. Lunch was her only reprieve, and even that was disappointing. Her sandwich was peanut butter and tuna, a combination she’d decided she hated. She needed to start drinking coffee; it’s not a good sign when you mix two things like that together in the morning.
She had to be at work at eight every weekday morning, but her eldest had to be at school by 7:20, which meant she had to get up forty minutes earlier. More precious sleep lost. If only her husband didn’t have to work at seven. It probably wouldn’t be so bad if her eight month old would start sleeping through the night. She was lucky if she got two hours of sleep.
She was at her wits end. Life was exhausting no matter where she went. Her children demanded attention that she didn’t have the energy to give, work demanded deadlines she wasn’t lucid enough to meet, and her husband wanted dinner at six sharp.
She wished she could just lie down and sleep forever.
---
Finally, his day was over. After driving home for an hour, he finally opened his car door. Removing his things, he scuffled to the house, too exhausted to walk properly. It took him three tries to get the key in the slot, and then a moment to realize he was turning it the wrong way. After entering, he relieved the babysitter, paying her for her time. Both he and his wife were grateful to have found someone they could trust their daughter with. They’d had a few bad experiences with babysitters and their son when he was an infant.
His son didn’t even notice he was home. The TV was on and playing cartoons. He didn’t really care to watch cartoons, so he took the remote and changed it to NCIS, ignoring the protests of his son. He was too tired to care, and he really liked this show. Tom and Jerry wasn’t really all that engaging, and it had probably been playing all day.
His wife would probably be home in fifteen minutes anyway. His son wouldn’t have to wait long to regain control of the television.
---
She was finally able to clock out. She hadn’t gotten much work done, but her boss was very understanding. She was fortunate that her boss was a mother herself, otherwise she’d probably be out of a job, and they wouldn’t be able to afford the mortgage. She couldn’t imagine living in an apartment with two kids. No escape from the noise that comes with parenthood. Sometimes she wondered why she’d wanted children before. That question only lasted for a moment though, as she truly was glad to be a mother, and loved her children. Even if she occasionally wanted to lock them in their bedrooms forever.
They were just so tiring.
She left work and drove home. Unlike her husband, it was a very short drive, lasting only ten minutes. She considered that a very good thing, as she was concerned she would lose focus and hit something. She didn’t, but it was always a constant fear now that she had another infant at home.
Pulling into the driveway, she thanked God that she didn’t run anyone over, and that the house was still standing. She exited the car and, much like her husband, scuffled to the door, which was unlocked.
The TV was on in the family room, and their son was playing alone with wooden blocks while occasionally glancing at the TV. She asked her husband to help cook, and he got up, giving their son the remote. He eagerly switched the TV to Justice League and lost awareness to the world around him.
After a few mix ups, they finally had the ingredients right. The meat was cut properly, the oven was up to temperature. Twenty minutes after they started making it, dinner was in the oven. Mom and dad sat with son and daughter. Their daughter was sleeping in her mother’s arms, and their son was sandwiched between both parents. They were watching a family sitcom.
After dinner, they watched another hour of TV. This time, they threw in Aladdin for their son’s sake. He stayed fairly quiet for most of it, having realized that his parents don’t like it when he asks “why” about everything in the movie.
After the movie was over, everyone went to bed with thoughts of flying carpets and genies in their heads.
---
Several years past. The parents finally were able to get sleep again with the occasional interruption. They never quite broke out of the routine they established in their exhaustion. Both son and daughter watched several hours of TV a day. They watched sitcoms with their parents, and cartoons with the babysitter.
The TV kept them quiet and happy, which made the parents happy. They’d rather the children watch TV over bicker over stupid things, which they still occasionally did.
To the parents, the TV was a babysitter. Only every couple of weeks was the TV left off for an entire day.
The few times the parents tried to interrupt their television, the children protested loudly. They generally gave up, too tired to fight. They didn’t see the harm in letting them watch TV as long as the kids still got exercise.
They added another tradition as the years had progressed: dinner was now held in the family room in front of the TV. It was easier to please the children that way, and they were more likely to eat their peas when their attention was fully on the TV.
The potential harm these habits could be causing never crossed their minds.
---
Two weeks out of the year, they went camping. They owned a large tent with two rooms in it. The kids were given one, the parents had the other. This was the only time of year that the children received their parents’ attention without distractions. Both children and parents anticipated this trip every year, all year.
They played, hiked, and learned about the wild. Their parents even let them help cook and set up the tent. They felt like a true family.
Only two weeks out of the year did the parents have time for their children. They would discipline and teach them at home, but never do anything fun with them. It was just too hard to balance everything. It was only during these trips that they realized how fun it could be to play with their children.
---
Another year passed. The routine remained the same. The children were allowed to watch more shows as they got older, and were used to watching cop shows with their parents.
It wasn’t until the parents received an email from a friend that things changed.
She was reading her email when she noticed one from one of her former coworkers. The woman had become a mother herself in the past few years, but was single. The email was sent by her friend because it was something that had apparently changed her friend’s parenting methods. She didn’t really care to change anything, but read through it anyway.
At the end was a link to a video. She clicked it. The video was about how television affects children in the long run. It stated things like how it would make them more violent and disrespectful, how young children didn’t understand that commercials were trying to sell something, and how it disrupted social development.
She hadn’t really thought about it before. It was a concern she’d moved to the back of her mind. Something she didn’t have time to consider. Seeing it presented to her now, however, changed her mind. She was putting things together. Her son was one of the more disruptive members of his class, and would often think that the parents had little authority over him. He didn’t have many friends, so it wasn’t them encouraging this behavior. It was the television.
She asked her husband to watch the video.
He started it with the same thoughts as his wife. They were going fine as they were. The kids were a little rowdy, but controllable. However, halfway through the video, thoughts changed. The kids were more than a little rowdy, and the television was at the heart of it. The family worshipped the television.
Things had to change.
---
It took a while for the children to understand, but they finally united as a family. Immediately after watching the video, television was banned for an entire month. After that, the children were only allowed 45 minutes a day of supervised television. They were allowed to save up their minutes and watch a movie instead.
Instead of worshipping the TV, the parents started spending more time with their children. They’d play with them and encourage them. Even though they were tired, they wanted to give their kids the best. The children got used to not watching the television and enjoyed the attention their parents gave them.
They were finally a family.
Word of the Day
STEPS
FOUND: TWO ART279 STUDENTS. WERE MISSING FOR HALF OF SPRING TERM. OTHER ART279 STUDENTS ARE STILL MISSING. PLEASE HELP FIND THEM BY POKING THEM WITH YARD STICKS IF YOU SEE THEM. DON'T BOTHER ALERTING AUTHORITIES UNLESS YOU HAVE CAKE.
FOUND: TWO ART279 STUDENTS. WERE MISSING FOR HALF OF SPRING TERM. OTHER ART279 STUDENTS ARE STILL MISSING. PLEASE HELP FIND THEM BY POKING THEM WITH YARD STICKS IF YOU SEE THEM. DON'T BOTHER ALERTING AUTHORITIES UNLESS YOU HAVE CAKE.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Week 6 - Inventory
step checklist:
√ 180 words
√ 90 words
√ 10 word position statement
√ client brief
√ target audience discussion
√ Biggest obstacle conversation (posted to your blog) and challenge question exercise (posted to instructor blog ) See week 5 assignment post for details.
-√ consumer generated website roundup (will revisit after listening to the podcast)
√ 180 words
√ 90 words
√ 10 word position statement
√ client brief
√ target audience discussion
√ Biggest obstacle conversation (posted to your blog) and challenge question exercise (posted to instructor blog ) See week 5 assignment post for details.
-√ consumer generated website roundup (will revisit after listening to the podcast)
Week 5 + Target Audience
V1 CHALLENGE Q: Do you love your children enough to get involved?
Discussion questions:
Do you find your creative assignment challenging?
Do you have access to information that would give your team the best understanding of your problem?
Do you want to work on the solution to this problem?
Are you honestly inspired by the relevant aspects of the solution?
Are you eager to solve this problem in a completely new and surprising manner?
Summation of the challenge discussion:
Parents get lazy after having exhausting days and plop their kids in front of the TV. The best way to inspire themselves (and us), is to challenge that laziness. "Do you love your children enough to get involved?" is a question that will challenge their pride as a parent, their involvement in their child's life, and push them on. And it makes me feel like we have a fighting chance in this battle.
Target Audience: Parents of young children, ages 25-35.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Client Brief
Forgot to post this, haha.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project Title: Too Much TV
Project Type: Public Service Announcement
Client/Agency: Too Much TV
May 19th, 2009
Agency Team
MaryAnn Wright
Travis Gerrard
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Current Situation: Children are watching too much television instead of spending quality time with friends and family. This is stunting growth and dividing families.
WHERE DO WE WANT TO BE?
To ... Parents need to know how television affects children and should spend more time with them.
HOW WILL WE KNOW WE'VE ARRIVED?
Measurement of: How many hours children watch television a day. using a scientific study.
WHAT ARE WE DOING TO GET THERE?
Marketing Strategy
We plan to achieve our objective(s) by: We will create three public service announcements revealing the affects of television on children, and comparing that to how having a close parent affects a child.
Campaign Strategy
Key Messages: Children need a parent's time and love, not the television. Television promotes violent and disrespectful behavior, and stunts social growth.
Key Media: Photography, video, and web.
WHO DO WE NEED TO TALK TO?
Definition of target group: Parents of young children; aged approximately 25-35 years old. Both moms and dads.
Insights into this target group: Computer literate, values time, busy
PRACTICALITIES AND APPROVALS
Budgets: N/A
Timings: Complete by: June 5th, 2009
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project Title: Too Much TV
Project Type: Public Service Announcement
Client/Agency: Too Much TV
May 19th, 2009
Agency Team
MaryAnn Wright
Travis Gerrard
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Current Situation: Children are watching too much television instead of spending quality time with friends and family. This is stunting growth and dividing families.
WHERE DO WE WANT TO BE?
To ... Parents need to know how television affects children and should spend more time with them.
HOW WILL WE KNOW WE'VE ARRIVED?
Measurement of: How many hours children watch television a day. using a scientific study.
WHAT ARE WE DOING TO GET THERE?
Marketing Strategy
We plan to achieve our objective(s) by: We will create three public service announcements revealing the affects of television on children, and comparing that to how having a close parent affects a child.
Campaign Strategy
Key Messages: Children need a parent's time and love, not the television. Television promotes violent and disrespectful behavior, and stunts social growth.
Key Media: Photography, video, and web.
WHO DO WE NEED TO TALK TO?
Definition of target group: Parents of young children; aged approximately 25-35 years old. Both moms and dads.
Insights into this target group: Computer literate, values time, busy
PRACTICALITIES AND APPROVALS
Budgets: N/A
Timings: Complete by: June 5th, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Positioner
Children need a parent's time and love, not the television.
----
When children are allowed to view violent programs, they become more aggressive, desensitized to real world violence, and may develop a fear of being victimized. Television also promotes risky behaviors by depicting characters doing them, and reinforces stereotypes. Children are likely to reproduce behavior they see on TV by observational learning, meaning that they need to be closely monitored. If they spend more than 4 hours/day watching TV, they are also more likely to be overweight. Children already watch TV an average of 2-4 hours a day.
Children should only be allowed a couple of hours of television a day, tops. Parents should record shows before allowing their children to watch them so that they can cut out commercials. Children don’t understand that commercials are trying to sell you something; they feel that they need whatever they’re seeing. Not only that, they may not understand the concept of replays. The World Trade Center attack was shown over and over again, and children may have thought it was a new event each time. They should not watch the news. Nevar Evar!
-----
Children who are allowed to watch violent programs become desensitized to real world violence. Children are likley to imitate behavior they see on tv by observational learning. Children who spend more than 4 hours a day watching tv are proned to being obese. Children can learn risky behaviors such as sex, violence and drugs from TV programs and commercials. Parents should restrict children from viewing violent programs. By providing resources and educating parents, we can ensure children will not likely be exposed to violent and harmful TV programs which can promote risky behaviors.
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When children are allowed to view violent programs, they become more aggressive, desensitized to real world violence, and may develop a fear of being victimized. Television also promotes risky behaviors by depicting characters doing them, and reinforces stereotypes. Children are likely to reproduce behavior they see on TV by observational learning, meaning that they need to be closely monitored. If they spend more than 4 hours/day watching TV, they are also more likely to be overweight. Children already watch TV an average of 2-4 hours a day.
Children should only be allowed a couple of hours of television a day, tops. Parents should record shows before allowing their children to watch them so that they can cut out commercials. Children don’t understand that commercials are trying to sell you something; they feel that they need whatever they’re seeing. Not only that, they may not understand the concept of replays. The World Trade Center attack was shown over and over again, and children may have thought it was a new event each time. They should not watch the news. Nevar Evar!
-----
Children who are allowed to watch violent programs become desensitized to real world violence. Children are likley to imitate behavior they see on tv by observational learning. Children who spend more than 4 hours a day watching tv are proned to being obese. Children can learn risky behaviors such as sex, violence and drugs from TV programs and commercials. Parents should restrict children from viewing violent programs. By providing resources and educating parents, we can ensure children will not likely be exposed to violent and harmful TV programs which can promote risky behaviors.
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