It’s Ad Season

It’s football season!

For me, that means it’s the time of year that minors in the household actually see ads…and can’t hit the “skip” button.

Sometimes, the 30 to 60-second TV spot is clever enough to keep their attention and make them laugh.

Creatives in advertising and marketing have a tough crowd, though: the kids are underwhelmed.

After sitting through one spot, the 7-year old said out loud, mostly to herself, “it’s all just for a car…”

Yeah, kid. And that’s not even one for drugs.

Nowadays, TV ads during football games are the most exposure kids get to mass marketing.

Most screen time is on apps, sometimes streaming videos. That is where the ads are supposedly more targeted and personalized.

“by the time a child reaches the age of 13, online advertising firms have collected an average of 72 million data points about them.”

The idea of privacy isn’t about hiding. It’s about not trusting how others interpret.

“Young children may not grasp the importance of privacy, but they deserve it, and have a right to it, just the same.”

I’m old enough to remember when the President stood up in front of Congress during a State of the Union address and called for a ban on digital advertising to minors.

In fact, you’re probably old enough to remember that, too, actually.