It is pogo time

J is gripped by pogo fever. She eagerly waits for the newspaper and asks for a priority viewing of The hindu metroplus. She zooms in on pogo and notes down her favourite programmes.Summer holiday has really made her a discerning viewer. She operates within the parameters set by her mommy and optimises her enjoyment!
So it happens that I also get a liberal dose of pogo. She is an avid conversationalist, so not only do i get to view them but also get her views, news and reviews in good measure.Pink panther and chhota bheem are her hot favourites ( for now that is!).Sunday mornings are 'sunaina' and Ramayana she told me. She wanted to know whether sunaina is my favourite programme also. She said all her close friends watch it without fail on Sunday morning at 10 am.Of course it goes without saying that she has watched every episode of Mr Bean and will give a running commentary just like an avid Rajnikant fan watching his favourite star for the 20th time, and repeating loudly his punch dialogues and spoiling the fun for others.But here my enjoyment is heightened and not curtailed by her eager comments.
Things were going smoothly and we were settling down cosily, when I was rudely shaken by a commercial. It was about a perfume. We have seen this ad on other adult channels and it ends with " it is very sexy". I was shocked that they are airing the same ad in a children's channel , the only concession being the models are small kids and not adults and the punch line is " it is naughty".For the uninitiated, it is about girls falling head over heels in love with boys who wear this perfume.Is this what we want to tell small kids? What is the advertisement council doing?
That we are making the kids consumerists is bad enough, but adult themes unobstrusively thrust into kiddos minds?The company and the artist need life imprisonment, nothing less.
To indicate how powerful the medium is, I can tell you one example. There was an ad about popcorn and immediately J went inside and pulled out a packet of popcorn which was left over. There was another ad about chocolate and J immediately went in and pulled out two chocolates for the two of us. This is the effect, immediate and strong and compelling them to use the product.
Exploitation of children, need not only be by making them work or making them models for these ads.It is also distorting their worldview.