Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
Posted by Raymond T.
Jan 9, 2008 at 5:38pm CST
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According to the star, the Federal Trade Commission is urging the Motion Picture Association of America to reconsider their guidelines that allow some PG-13 movies in the United States to be marketed towards young children. The issue was taken notice by the FTC after a complaint from an advocacy group that claimed that the movie was advertised towards childeren as young as two years of age. This conclusion was drawn after commercials for the movie was aired during kids shows like Fairly Odd Parents and Jimmy Neutron.
Read the full article here.
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Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by i_amtrunks
Jan 9, 2008
Cannot say I am surprised.
Advocacy groups seem to hold a lot of sway. Crazy people always do.
Advocacy groups seem to hold a lot of sway. Crazy people always do.
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by zemper
Jan 9, 2008
well at least Hasbro should listen. that was stupid on their part marketing all those TFTMs with their fragile parts and Automorph at 5 year olds...how do they expect those toys to last at their hands?
but well, business is business...
but well, business is business...
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by xxaMaxx
Jan 9, 2008
I would agree that there is a discrepancy between the targeted audience of the PG-13 movie, and the target audience of the toy lines.
I also remember being a kid and I knowing a movie probably wasn't any good unless it was rated PG-13 or higher.
I also remember being a kid and I knowing a movie probably wasn't any good unless it was rated PG-13 or higher.
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by Raymond T.
Jan 9, 2008
You could also argue that the "kiddie-advertisements" are actually for the older Transformers-fans who have small children of their own! And Primus-knows there are alot of them. Responsible parents would be watching television WITH their children anyways. And Hasbro knows that fans who are parents want to endulge their own kids into Transformers, no matter their age.
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by what0080
Jan 9, 2008
Our tax dollars hard at work...
[/Sarcasm]
[/Sarcasm]
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by Autobot Jazz
Jan 9, 2008
People are always going to find something to complain about, this is just anothe one of those things
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by imotron
Jan 9, 2008
May I say this was expected? oh I said it already and some else did, at a point you have to realized what youngest kids are watching and even when I have a Autobot tatoo sign on my shoulder, some things shouldn't be addressed after certain age
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by Liege Evilmus
Jan 9, 2008
So can we assume Animated is a preemtive strike on these people?
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by Starscreams bad comedy
Jan 9, 2008
1. These advocacy groups are usually made up of the same busy body soccer moms who think it’s a good ideal to basically raise their children like veal calfs and banning tag at schools is good.
2. Just because they advertised during shows that may have 2 year olds watching doesn’t means that said two year olds are going to even want to see Transformers.
3. If said two year olds want to see it then its their parents decision if they will take them to see it or if its inappropriate for them, not some advocacy group.
2. Just because they advertised during shows that may have 2 year olds watching doesn’t means that said two year olds are going to even want to see Transformers.
3. If said two year olds want to see it then its their parents decision if they will take them to see it or if its inappropriate for them, not some advocacy group.
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by Abilor
Jan 9, 2008
It's REALLY hard to take this seriously while Ronald McDonald is selling toddlers heart disease and diabetes...
PRIORITIES GODDAMNIT!!!!
PRIORITIES GODDAMNIT!!!!
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by Lapse Of Reason
Jan 9, 2008
As much as I love Transformers and the movie, I can't say I disagree. My 5 year old loves Transformers too, but we will only let him watch parts of the movie. Much of the content is geared towards teens and adults, not 5 year olds. I felt pretty awkward when he asked what was so funny about Sam's happy time. Then again, we are actually responsible parents who prefer to be in charge over what our children see and don't see. I want to be the judge, not some consumer advocacy group.
It seems the toys were designed for an older age group too, seeing how fragile some of them are.
It seems the toys were designed for an older age group too, seeing how fragile some of them are.
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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That's McHeart Disease and McDiabetes !
Yeah priorities!
Transformers the movie was geared towards 2 year olds ? this is actually an old story dating back at least 5 months now but what two year old understands all of what they would be seeing in that movie anyway ?
I saw the movie five times in the theater and not anyone under the age of 15 was ever present that I noticed.
This is BS and it's the parents job to do exactly that, PARENT your kids and stop blaming everything on tv,music,movies and so on.
Just because an ad appears on a childrens show doesn't mean only two or three year olds are watching especially a show like transformers where even the current animated version is geared towards a younger audience and a lot of the people here have watched it and gee I'm guessing most people here are not two years old!
Parents, do your bloody jobs and quit making excuses, the tv set is not an instant baby sitter for your kids!
Comment by ***Galvatron***
Jan 9, 2008
Abilor wrote:It's REALLY hard to take this seriously while Ronald McDonald is selling toddlers heart disease and diabetes...
PRIORITIES GODDAMNIT!!!!
That's McHeart Disease and McDiabetes !
Yeah priorities!
Transformers the movie was geared towards 2 year olds ? this is actually an old story dating back at least 5 months now but what two year old understands all of what they would be seeing in that movie anyway ?
I saw the movie five times in the theater and not anyone under the age of 15 was ever present that I noticed.
This is BS and it's the parents job to do exactly that, PARENT your kids and stop blaming everything on tv,music,movies and so on.
Just because an ad appears on a childrens show doesn't mean only two or three year olds are watching especially a show like transformers where even the current animated version is geared towards a younger audience and a lot of the people here have watched it and gee I'm guessing most people here are not two years old!
Parents, do your bloody jobs and quit making excuses, the tv set is not an instant baby sitter for your kids!
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by Omega Charge
Jan 9, 2008
Sigh. The cartoons kids watch these days can be just as bad. The parent doesn't have to take the kid to see the movie anyway.
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by Wheelimus Prime
Jan 9, 2008
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by imotron
Jan 9, 2008
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by Nemesis_Apoc
Jan 9, 2008
Hasbro is no different than Marlboro. Gotta hook'em when they're young.
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by Cascadia
Jan 9, 2008
This seems that several movies have done this during this past year, not this one. It is unfortunate that some advertisements get leaked into shows that are geared towards young children. Also, there are movies that developed toys for those movies. In all of the movies that are related PG-13, I have seen many young children aged at 2 or 3 years old with their parents.
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Honestly, Just because they are tied into a movie, you can't forget what they are: toys....children's toys at that. So Bumblebee in the movie peed on a guy....dosen't mean any of the BB toys have a squirt gun feature lodged into the crotch.
My 3-year-old son has several of the kiddy-marketed TF toys, & I have no problem with that. Without the movie's adult content to back them up, they're nothing but hunks of plastic.
& IIRC, that's the whole reasoning for why Hasbro ever marketed them towards kiddies in the first place: so that younger kids wouldn't have to miss out on the Transformers movie characters just because the movie was out of their age range......not to cause them to want to watch the movie so much as fill the void for the ones that couldn't watch it. it's kinda a nice gesture. Besides, you don't see people getting pissy about the Spider-man & Friends toys & merchandise, even though the Spider-man movies are PG-13.
Comment by Nemesis Cyberplex
Jan 9, 2008
Except Hasbro's products won't leave kids with a plastic ring in their throats.....er.....wait a minute......Nemesis_Apoc wrote:Hasbro is no different than Marlboro. Gotta hook'em when they're young.
Honestly, Just because they are tied into a movie, you can't forget what they are: toys....children's toys at that. So Bumblebee in the movie peed on a guy....dosen't mean any of the BB toys have a squirt gun feature lodged into the crotch.
My 3-year-old son has several of the kiddy-marketed TF toys, & I have no problem with that. Without the movie's adult content to back them up, they're nothing but hunks of plastic.
& IIRC, that's the whole reasoning for why Hasbro ever marketed them towards kiddies in the first place: so that younger kids wouldn't have to miss out on the Transformers movie characters just because the movie was out of their age range......not to cause them to want to watch the movie so much as fill the void for the ones that couldn't watch it. it's kinda a nice gesture. Besides, you don't see people getting pissy about the Spider-man & Friends toys & merchandise, even though the Spider-man movies are PG-13.
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by Autobot032
Jan 10, 2008
2? No, that's absolutely ridiculous.
The rest of it? I completely agree.
It was a movie aimed at teens and adults (i.e. collectors, old school fans) and it definitely wasn't kid material.
1.) Violent. (Excessive considering the source material.)
2.) Foul language. (More than had ever been in US TF material.)
3.) Sexual situations. (Absolutely unnecessary for the film.)
It was a great movie, no doubt, but it certainly wasn't kid friendly. If I was a parent and hadn't seen the film beforehand, I too would be ballistically infuriated by the content. It's based on a kid's toyline and show, and there are plenty of tie-in toys that kids would want.
As much as I hate to admit it (beyond the age 2 thing...) this argument is sound.
This is why I like TransFormers: Animated, it really *does* encompass all audiences and entertains without selling out or compromising quality.
The rest of it? I completely agree.
It was a movie aimed at teens and adults (i.e. collectors, old school fans) and it definitely wasn't kid material.
1.) Violent. (Excessive considering the source material.)
2.) Foul language. (More than had ever been in US TF material.)
3.) Sexual situations. (Absolutely unnecessary for the film.)
It was a great movie, no doubt, but it certainly wasn't kid friendly. If I was a parent and hadn't seen the film beforehand, I too would be ballistically infuriated by the content. It's based on a kid's toyline and show, and there are plenty of tie-in toys that kids would want.
As much as I hate to admit it (beyond the age 2 thing...) this argument is sound.
This is why I like TransFormers: Animated, it really *does* encompass all audiences and entertains without selling out or compromising quality.
Re: Transformers Movie Criticized For Martketing Towards Kids Too Young
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Comment by Ultra Markus
Jan 10, 2008
so what, then how young is too young,
it shouldn't matter parents will take them to a
movie like that if they choose
it shouldn't matter parents will take them to a
movie like that if they choose
