Netflix Saves Kids from Up to 400 Hours of Commercials a Year

Re:Netflix Saves Kids from Up to 400 Hours of Commercials a ... by lmkg on Tuesday May 14, 2019 @01:47PM (#19911834)

To be fair, my favorite show growing up was Transformers. So technically even the show itself was a commercial.

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Re:Netflix Saves Kids from Up to 400 Hours of Commercials a ... by TallGuyShort on Tuesday May 14, 2019 @02:34PM (#19912437)

Transformers is great advertising - it delivered good entertainment value, it made the toys more fun to play with because your imagination had already seen a bunch of Transformers stories play out.

Contrast this with cable TV ads if you haven't watched cable TV in a while. Annoying, gimmicky, manipulative.

I don't have a problem with commercials on principle - I have a problem with how they're implemented. Banner ads on website that give me good content for free? Great! Informing me there are hot MILFs in my area while I'm pair-programming with my boss? No thanks.

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Re:Netflix Saves Kids from Up to 400 Hours of Commercials a ... by mgkimsal on Tuesday May 14, 2019 @03:30PM (#19913018)

I'm always reminded of the Mattel and Mars Bar quick Energy Chocobot Hour whenever I think of Transformers...

https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/Mattel_and_Mars_Bar_Quick_E...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HErRwSpla0

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Re:Netflix Saves Kids from Up to 400 Hours of Commercials a ... by bargl on Tuesday May 14, 2019 @01:52PM (#19911912)

I don't know how many PJ Masks toys and shirts I've bought based on that show.

The thing that got me as a kid was seeing all the cool food everyone else got that my parents wouldn't give me. I just wanted hot pockets in my house like they had. Kids will always want toys like the shows they like. But the other stuff isn't necessary.

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Re:Netflix Saves Kids from Up to 400 Hours of Commercials a ... by cortesoft on Tuesday May 14, 2019 @04:43PM (#19913710)

Yeah, all my favorite shows from my childhood in the 80's were created to sell a toy.

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Re:Netflix Saves Kids from Up to 400 Hours of Commercials a ... by Insanity on Tuesday May 14, 2019 @01:51PM (#19911899)

That probably goes for a lot of shows for kids :)

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Re:Netflix Saves Kids from Up to 400 Hours of Commercials a ... by smhenderson on Tuesday May 14, 2019 @02:47PM (#19912599)

I'd say if a kids show is not on public television it most likely is a commercial for a toy or a vehicle for a number of other ads for unrelated toys.

And even for me and my five year old, there is plenty of Danial Tiger gear out there to buy! The difference is they make and sell the toys but they don't advertise them during the show. It's not much but that subtle difference is what allows me to sit down and watch 30 - 60 minutes of these shows a few times a week with her.

As others have mentioned, even NetFlix "sells toys", just not overtly like network TV does. But just watching PJ Max, Trolls, etc. makes my five year old grand daughter want everything she sees when we go to any store that has these shows' stuff for sale.

Both of them are still better than numbing their minds with 8-12 minutes of intense, flashy commercials for every 30 minute show they watch though.

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