Admongo: Are your kids ad-savvy?

It is that time of the year again. Whether it is your mailbox full of colorful fliers, or your television enticing your kids with ads that are created to build excitement, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, has created the Admongo campaign to help teach kids about advertising.

Advertising is a multi-million dollar business. Truthful advertising provides benefits to consumers and competition. It gives consumers the information they need to make better-informed purchasing and product use decisions. It also gives companies an incentive to modify their products to provide features that customers want. By contrast, false advertising interferes with decision-making and hinders competition.

Tweens and teens have their own money to spend, and parents report that children play an important role in family buying decisions. Because kids are an important part of the marketplace, they often are the targets of advertising and marketing programs. The result is that American kids see ads wherever they go.

An example of what you can learn from Admongo:

Must-have: The technique of portraying a product or services as something that consumers must have to be happy, popular, or satisfied. Critical thinking questions: What can this product really do for me?
Shopping online or off, learning young about marketing and advertising can save you a lot of money and time.

Learn more and share with your kids at www.Admongo.gov