Research in the community: November 8th

Research in the community: I already posted about my findings in the local book store, so I focused less on that portion and more on the observations I made in the local Library and ad's inspired by children's stories.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, when I went to the Barnes&Noble, I was surprised to see so many adults with children in the kids section. I was happy to see bonding through literature, and that these adults utilized public spaces to grow with their children. While I did notice parents choosing gender “appropriate” books for their kids, I think that its more the thought that counts.
When I went to the public library, I also saw a lot of parents or guardians with children in the kids section, but there were more individuals here. Most looked sheepish, annoyed, or inquisitive. I can relate to these feelings: I feel embarrassed when I don’t look like I know what I am doing, and I get annoyed when I can’t find a book I am looking for, but I am curious to see what selections the library has to offer. While I feel that the book store was busier and had more families in it, I do think that the library is just as inviting to those same people. I think that because I went to observe during a school day during business hours, my results were different than they would have been at a later time or on a weekend. Most of the people who came didn’t stay: they got what they were looking for, or returned their books, and then left. Although, some did stay to study or spend time with their children/families in the library, most seemed to have other things to do during the day.
When I went to look into different types of commercials that drew ideas from children’s stories, I was shocked to find so many from all areas of marketing. From soda commercials, to flooring, and even perfume, children’s stories were the central themes. I thought the ads would mostly be for costume shops or events, but it seems that this theme can relate to a wide audience: gets kids attention, and it brings adults back to their child hood. In my Psych of Education class, we discussed that things will stick in your head if they have context. Since these ads relate to just about everyone, they stick inside the consumers head, making people remember their product and be more likely to buy it. It is a genius scheme. Some of the specific ads I found include:
- A Pepsi commercial that plays off the Frog Prince
- A Doritos commercial that plays of the Frog Prince
- A Nokia ad inspired by multiple fairy tales, including Sleeping Beauty
- A Burger Kind ad inspired by Little Red Riding Hood
- A Honey Nut Cheerios ad inspired by Little Red Riding Hood
- An entire Barbie genre and commercial set inspired by Swan Lake
- A Flooring ad by Armstrong Flooring that revolves around themes from the Frog Prince
The sheer number and availability of these ads also surprised me. I thought that I would be hunting these down, but they were really easy to find: I saw a bunch on TV because it is holiday season, and I looked on Youtube for the rest. There are at least 100 separate tabs to click for this section: who knew children’s stories are so popular!