But they want advertisers to take the letter's contents to heart. They want to see more Chick-Fil-A's out there ? companies that position themselves as family-friendly, dare I say Christian businesses. They want advertisers to cross over to their side in the culture wars with cleaner commercials and more appropriate products. They want executives to truly consider whether it's a good idea to, say, sell clothes that make young girls look like streetwalkers-in-training. There may indeed be profit in these sales. That doesn't make them right.
These mothers are ready to talk with companies that want to do better and to extend all manner of understanding to those trying to improve. And they are more than willing to walk away from those that don't take them seriously.
And let's not forget, folks ? values education begins at home. Many of us need to a look inward and commit to improvement, to lead less media-driven, work-driven and consumption-driven lives. We need to work harder to assert ourselves and our values into the lives of our children. We need to teach them to deconstruct the messages advertisers send. We may not be able to make our homes and schools and families commerce-free, but that doesn't mean we can't work to minimize advertising's influence. There is no reason for our children to be bombarded by advertising, marketing or market research in their schools. None. And we should see that they don't.
Also, we should join the Motherhood Project in urging advertisers to quit targeting children younger than 8, to avoid product placement in movies aimed at kids and to redirect how they spend the millions they spend now figuring out how to influence our children contrary to our wishes. It's time they quit promoting selfishness and instant gratification and quit sponsoring sexually graphic or violent programming likely to be watched by children.
We hope, of course, advertisers will work with moms on the all-important and terribly difficult job of watching out for our kids. But if they won't, we need to show them we mean business. We need to show them who really controls the money in the family. And it's not the 8-year-old.