Advertising on kid-friendly website Webkinz has one advocacy group up in arms and demanding the toymaker take down the ads.
Once upon a time, a $15 purchase of a Webkinz toy and its included access code led wide-eyed children (and more than a few parents) to the wonderful webby world of fluffy goodness from Ganz. All it lacked was the ubiquitous advertising seen on every other site on the web.
Hi innocence, reality just called, your license to exist has been revoked. That’s the general tone of the New York Times documenting the placement of ads for films “Bee Movie” and “Alvin and the Chipmunks” on the Webkinz site.
Advocacy group Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood registered their displeasure with the shift from ad-free to ad-supported content on the site.
“It is disappointing that Webkinz is choosing to maximize profits at the expense of parents’ trust,” Susan Linn, CCFC’s director and a psychologist at Judge Baker Children’s Center, said in a statement.
Paid Content called the move a “PR nightmare” for Ganz, the producer of the cuddly Webkinz. They cited the perhaps-mistaken impression parents got that paying for the toy meant receiving ad-free web content too.
“If Ganz really needs the money, it should immediately eliminate the ads and charge more for the toys,” Henry Blodget said at Silicon Alley Insider.
This could be a tempest in a teapot, though, as so many Internet users have become used to tuning out banner ads. These ads may not have the desired impact; indeed, the placement of an “Alvin and the Chipmunks” banner may serve as a warning to Dads everywhere – annoying chipmunk noises ahead, beware!
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