Kids and Bling

Mr Schlosser argues that twenty-five years ago only a handful of American companies targeted their marketing at children. He goes on to state the reason for this as "Many working parents, feeling guilty about spending less time with their kids, started spending more money on them." However, it could be argued that the eighties was a time of great economic prosperity. The economy experienced booming recovery from record inflation and unemployment as well as the oil embargoes of the 1970's. Americans were ready to spend their money again. So why not spend money on their kids? American companies wisely discovered this largely untapped market and they went for it.
Allowing the free market to do what the free market does is essential to the health of our capitalistic system. Certainly, there should be moral and ethical parameters as to how far companies are allowed to go in order to make a buck. Mr. Schlosser seems to believe that companies have gone to far. That they have crossed ethical boundaries and they need to be held accountable for it. However, I am not so convinced that transgression has occurred. It seems to me these companies have wisely used very effective marketing strategies in order to get Americans to spend their money. Actually, our economy is driven by consumer spending so the marketers are actually doing a service to society. For instance, Mr. Schlosser states, "The growth in children's advertising has been driven by efforts to increase not just current, but also future, consumption." Why would this be such a bad thing? If a company can create "brand loyalty" at an early age then both the consumer and the company are winning. The company saves a lot of money and the consumer sticks with a company they know have proven to continually produce a quality product.
Furthermore, Mr. Schlosser's argument seems to put no onus on the parents. Our not parents the adults? Are parents defenseless against the whimsical nagging of their child's wants? Ultimately, it is up to the parents to decide what is best for their children not some government agency that would ban advertising to children.