Amidst controversy, today, the toy company Ty Inc, which makes Beanie Babies has announced it is "renaming" the Sasha and Malia dolls that made Michelle Obama so unhappy a couple of weeks ago.
Before this news, my good friend and colleague, Susan Linn, director of the kick-ass Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (full disclosure, I serve on their steering committee) had penned a moving piece that I want to reprint here in its entirety. It eloquently captured my own horror at the news that the images of the President's daughters had been turned into dolls for sale. That the dolls have been renamed doesn't make the larger picture any less pertinent.
Protecting the First Daughters (and Other Kids, too)
by Susan Linn
When the Ty Company celebrated Barack Obama's inauguration by exploiting his daughters, the First Parents were understandably outraged. The company launched two new African American dolls named "Sweet Sasha" and "Marvelous Malia," laughably denying that they had any connection to the real Obama children. Michele Obama issued a powerful statement about the dolls saying, "We believe it is inappropriate to use young, private citizens for marketing purposes."
The Obamas' laudable effort to protect their girls from commercial exploitation is going to be an uphill struggle. They were already publicly urged to appear on the hit Disney show, Hannah Montana. The press refers to them as "first tweens," a marketing demographic dumping ground for children ranging in age from 6 to 14-and the Washington Post has called them "fashion icons."
Before his inauguration, President Obama wrote a public letter to his daughters sharing his hopes for them and, by extension, his hopes for all of the children in America. It's clear that the President sees his daughters as individuals, but there are times when he also sees "every child" in them. I'm hoping this is one of those times.
While the form of their exploitation might be unique, the Obama girls are not alone. Corporate America routinely uses young private citizens for marketing purposes. They might not be turned into dolls, but they are exploited as research tools and as a vast, unpaid sales force.
Companies like The Girls Intelligence Agency exploit children's friendships by conducting market research during pajama parties. Nickelodeon and Toys R Us, among others, have conducted market research in elementary schools. In the name of Internet safety, market research firms track children's online activities for their corporate clients. Popular social networking websites like Webkinz and Barbiegirl.com routinely encourage young users to reel in their friends through viral marketing.
What differentiates the Obamas from other parents struggling to protect their children is that the President actually has the power to take on Corporate America. As a first step, he could call on Congress to reauthorize the Federal Trade Commission's capacity to regulate commercial access to children, and repair the damage done when it was
stripped of much of its power at the dawn of the Reagan era. As his administration reclaims the right of government to set limits on the market, I hope he remembers his children-and other people's children as well.
So what is Susan Linn's reaction to today's news from Ty Inc?
It's not surprising that the company bowed to bad PR, which the President is capable of generating. But the average parent is not that powerful.