Ethical marketing to teens and tweens has become more prevalent than ever. As marketing and communications people ‘playing’ in this space, we know the ethical road better than many. I mention this in light of a recent article in The Age, that talks about a new product release by global brand Nair, makers of hair removal products aimed at girls between the ages of 10-15.
Here’s a snippet of the article:
“…the Australian arm of the company [Nair] has claimed its target audience is slightly older, in an attempt to distance itself from the US campaign, which involves phrases such as “Pretty isn’t a look. It’s a feeling,” “Nair will leave your skin smooth and totally touchable!” and this pearler from Stacey Feldman, vice-president for marketing at Nair’s parent company, Church & Dwight: “When a girl removes hair for the first time, it’s a life-changing moment.”
Girl - a leading website for female teens and preteens (girl.com.au) has featured ‘Brazilian Waxes’ on their site, a site predominantly read by girls between the ages of 9 and 14. Is this right?
This topic spurs on the topic is 10 the new 20? Internally we believe Generation Y has a clear split those 20-28 and those aged between 13-19. The divide between these two ages is startling, I almost want to say something like, “it wasn’t like that when I was 14″…. but will refrain!! I stand by the belief that ethics in marketing towards tweens and young teens needs to be priority number one. I also feel that this product is seriously skirting the boarder of ethical marketing. What is other people’s thoughts?
Adam Penberthy
