The Men That Make Us Spend ---Kids
Without Prejudice
I can remember my younger brother, David, at 10, calling himself Dalek Dave, a nod to Doctor Who, obviously. But then when he was four he was a dog for about six months, driving Mum to distraction. When she took him to the milk bar and asked what he wanted, he would only bark. Little nut.
But when we went to the U.K. For almost five years, he was Dalek Dave, signed his name as such and for me was the first indication of product sell. To kids. I had to endure an entire Movie of Doctor Who, being his kindly older Sister, and ready to poke my eyes out with a stick for two and a half interminable hours.
To be fair he endured Mary Poppins with me. I remember we sang supercalifragilistic , all the way home from Leeds on train and bus, driving the other passengers crazy. And apart from me being Annie Oakley when I was 6, and the brothers, Davy Crockett's, with their racoon tail hats, we never thought about how sales could be targeted at kids.
We just loved living in our imaginations and running around the yard shooting each other with out cap pistols. The pungent smell of sulphur our new favourite scent.
So on watching The Men That Make Us Spend---Kids. I realise how far things have come for children since my siblings and I ran around the garden at Port Augusta playing Cowboys and " Itchy Bums " avoiding the three crown bindi thistles that tore into soft feet undersides, just being kids in the outdoors.
We went to church every Sunday with our Presbyterian parents, dressed in our best, I and my older Sister, Jackie in our matching outfits, dresses, gloves, hats and handbag. I was five then. Still trying to get a pretty bow to stay in my accursed straight bobbed hair. We would come home have Sunday Lunch, help with the dishes and sing hymns like Calvary, Onward Christian Soldiers, Jesus Loves Me. Then change into our play clothes and be out of the house in a wink.
Unless Dad was rehearsing. On many a Sunday Dad rehearsed in the front room, his playing, his singing and we either sat in wonder or joined in. Jackie was the best and then Ian, both could play instruments. Jackie Bass Guitar and Ian lead guitar, both sang. It was fun and thrilling to see your older sibs so talented.
It was an innocent time.
Not so much now.
The men that made us spend shows us big business were quite casual about deliberately targeting kids to influence their parents to buy the new toy. There was a whole new medium to address. T.V. Invented by a Scotsman, John Logie Baird. TV watchers in the mornings, the cartoon brigade, were obviously kids eating their Snap Crackle and Pop Rice Bubbles.
The packs had rewards in them, little toys, the boxes becoming a game itself and we kids were hooked. I can remember many a vicious snit erupting after breakfast as to who was the " next turn " at gaining a toy. Thumps were exchanged, there were six of us after all. The boys 4 of, the girls 2. The boys could physically better us but we were cunning.
My Sister Jackie and I would disdain them, punch them, punch back, use our fingernails on their backs. Jackie would go for Ian I would go for George and Davis was just 18 months old and the sweetest little boy ever. Dave became a Dalek Dave in the U.K. And George retreated to his teenage lair, knuckles dragging on the ground. He loved soldiers, war craft, airplane models and did a paper round.
From the paper round he started to bring home comics, he collected all the Marvel comics and had me addicted to them too. They way he explained it, Stan Lee, Spidey, The Incredible Hulk, The Phantom. It was a new awakening to Drama, colour, graphics, that I remembered from the Saturday afternoon flix at Southport on the Gold Coast and Canowindra in N.S.W. My brothers taking me there and me hiding under the seat at stuff like the crocodile about to eat Tarzan. They would laugh at my fears.
One shilling and all the half hour shows you could stand to watch. The news documentaries short and entertaining. The serials like Tarzan and the Phantom, the ghost who walks ending in a cliff hanger every week, ensuring we went back the following Saturday afternoon and spending another shilling spent. If we didn't have the shilling we would sneak in like other naughty kids, hearts in mouths that we weren't found out, and banned for life.
The first clear indicator of direct sell to kids was Star Wars figures, there were 12 collectable figures. Then came Transformers, Teenage Murant Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers. As kids we baby boomers were used to nagging our parents for what we wanted. School was rife with swap cards, marbles.skipping games, hula hoops, yo yo's. Who had the best marble, swap card, yo yo? And if it was you, you were instantly popular.
I can remember fancy Yo Yo's that lit up, lights spinning in the dark, some direct from America, especially prized and our mouth open envy at wanting one. We had no Social Media, no Mobile phones, just word of mouth. And our envy that forced us to say to our parents.
" I want that one "
And our parents wanting to be good parents spent money on " stuff" for us. Skates, pogo sticks, hula hoops, tennis balls for Onesie, Twosie. My sister and I collected " scraps", paper pictures of mainly Dolly Varden ladies in crinolines some with Glitter. We would store them away in our books and just feel pleasure looking at them.
So the psychology of kids was married to adults and adults found they were also desirous of the Star Trek figures or the costumes, so the marketing started making costumes in adult sizes. Star Wars was phenomenal in its popularity. Everyone loved the Hans Solo character, or Obewan Knobe and hated Darth Vader.
On television came the Power Rangers, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Batman, Superman and little boys wanted the costumes for themselves. Just as my brothers had wanted to be dogs or Daleks, fighter soldiers or Spidermen 80's boys wanted to be Ninja Turtles or Batman. And begged their parents to open their wallets and purses. Direct selling to kids had begun.
I can remember my younger brother, David, at 10, calling himself Dalek Dave, a nod to Doctor Who, obviously. But then when he was four he was a dog for about six months, driving Mum to distraction. When she took him to the milk bar and asked what he wanted, he would only bark. Little nut.
But when we went to the U.K. For almost five years, he was Dalek Dave, signed his name as such and for me was the first indication of product sell. To kids. I had to endure an entire Movie of Doctor Who, being his kindly older Sister, and ready to poke my eyes out with a stick for two and a half interminable hours.
To be fair he endured Mary Poppins with me. I remember we sang supercalifragilistic , all the way home from Leeds on train and bus, driving the other passengers crazy. And apart from me being Annie Oakley when I was 6, and the brothers, Davy Crockett's, with their racoon tail hats, we never thought about how sales could be targeted at kids.
We just loved living in our imaginations and running around the yard shooting each other with out cap pistols. The pungent smell of sulphur our new favourite scent.
So on watching The Men That Make Us Spend---Kids. I realise how far things have come for children since my siblings and I ran around the garden at Port Augusta playing Cowboys and " Itchy Bums " avoiding the three crown bindi thistles that tore into soft feet undersides, just being kids in the outdoors.
We went to church every Sunday with our Presbyterian parents, dressed in our best, I and my older Sister, Jackie in our matching outfits, dresses, gloves, hats and handbag. I was five then. Still trying to get a pretty bow to stay in my accursed straight bobbed hair. We would come home have Sunday Lunch, help with the dishes and sing hymns like Calvary, Onward Christian Soldiers, Jesus Loves Me. Then change into our play clothes and be out of the house in a wink.
Unless Dad was rehearsing. On many a Sunday Dad rehearsed in the front room, his playing, his singing and we either sat in wonder or joined in. Jackie was the best and then Ian, both could play instruments. Jackie Bass Guitar and Ian lead guitar, both sang. It was fun and thrilling to see your older sibs so talented.
It was an innocent time.
Not so much now.
The men that made us spend shows us big business were quite casual about deliberately targeting kids to influence their parents to buy the new toy. There was a whole new medium to address. T.V. Invented by a Scotsman, John Logie Baird. TV watchers in the mornings, the cartoon brigade, were obviously kids eating their Snap Crackle and Pop Rice Bubbles.
The packs had rewards in them, little toys, the boxes becoming a game itself and we kids were hooked. I can remember many a vicious snit erupting after breakfast as to who was the " next turn " at gaining a toy. Thumps were exchanged, there were six of us after all. The boys 4 of, the girls 2. The boys could physically better us but we were cunning.
My Sister Jackie and I would disdain them, punch them, punch back, use our fingernails on their backs. Jackie would go for Ian I would go for George and Davis was just 18 months old and the sweetest little boy ever. Dave became a Dalek Dave in the U.K. And George retreated to his teenage lair, knuckles dragging on the ground. He loved soldiers, war craft, airplane models and did a paper round.
From the paper round he started to bring home comics, he collected all the Marvel comics and had me addicted to them too. They way he explained it, Stan Lee, Spidey, The Incredible Hulk, The Phantom. It was a new awakening to Drama, colour, graphics, that I remembered from the Saturday afternoon flix at Southport on the Gold Coast and Canowindra in N.S.W. My brothers taking me there and me hiding under the seat at stuff like the crocodile about to eat Tarzan. They would laugh at my fears.
One shilling and all the half hour shows you could stand to watch. The news documentaries short and entertaining. The serials like Tarzan and the Phantom, the ghost who walks ending in a cliff hanger every week, ensuring we went back the following Saturday afternoon and spending another shilling spent. If we didn't have the shilling we would sneak in like other naughty kids, hearts in mouths that we weren't found out, and banned for life.
The first clear indicator of direct sell to kids was Star Wars figures, there were 12 collectable figures. Then came Transformers, Teenage Murant Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers. As kids we baby boomers were used to nagging our parents for what we wanted. School was rife with swap cards, marbles.skipping games, hula hoops, yo yo's. Who had the best marble, swap card, yo yo? And if it was you, you were instantly popular.
I can remember fancy Yo Yo's that lit up, lights spinning in the dark, some direct from America, especially prized and our mouth open envy at wanting one. We had no Social Media, no Mobile phones, just word of mouth. And our envy that forced us to say to our parents.
" I want that one "
And our parents wanting to be good parents spent money on " stuff" for us. Skates, pogo sticks, hula hoops, tennis balls for Onesie, Twosie. My sister and I collected " scraps", paper pictures of mainly Dolly Varden ladies in crinolines some with Glitter. We would store them away in our books and just feel pleasure looking at them.
So the psychology of kids was married to adults and adults found they were also desirous of the Star Trek figures or the costumes, so the marketing started making costumes in adult sizes. Star Wars was phenomenal in its popularity. Everyone loved the Hans Solo character, or Obewan Knobe and hated Darth Vader.
On television came the Power Rangers, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Batman, Superman and little boys wanted the costumes for themselves. Just as my brothers had wanted to be dogs or Daleks, fighter soldiers or Spidermen 80's boys wanted to be Ninja Turtles or Batman. And begged their parents to open their wallets and purses. Direct selling to kids had begun.
