Wow, this ToysRUs ad needs to be taken down

[Iwillnevergiveup]

http://act.engagementlab.org/sign/toysrus/?akid=563.89772.noOBLu&rd=1&t=3

[warrior1]

1. I need a little more before clicking a link

[Iwillnevergiveup]

4. Here - marketing a wrong message to kids about environment and climate change

"Your anti-science, anti-environment toy ad is disrespectful and should not be aired. Learning about environmental science and playing outside should be celebrated. This commercial insults parents, kids, and educators. Our children will bear the greatest responsibilities to develop solutions to climate change, and they should understand how protecting our forests is part of the picture. At a time when so many families are impacted by carbon pollution and climate change, sending kids a message that environmental science and the outdoors are not important is the wrong message. Please, stop airing this ad. "

[Warpy]

26. That was neither the intent nor the message

Instead of being taken on another adult led, good-for-you field trip, the kids were going to be kids in a toy store. Face it, kids are always going to prefer play over "name that leaf."

I was a science geek even as a kid, and I remember all too many field trips that would have been fascinating if the adults had gotten the hell out of the way. Giving the kids a booklet of leaf shapes to fill in and turning them loose in an arboretum, giving the first kid to complete the book correctly a prize (chocolate leaf?) would have been better.

Maybe the real objection to this ad should be portraying naked greed as good.

[Art_from_Ark]

31. They could have easily left that part out

Sure, little kids would rather go to Toys-R-Us than do anything else, including learning in school, but why make it sound like learning about trees and nature is a real drag when it is something very important that all kids should do?

[CBGLuthier]

2. OMG, a toy company is taking the position that TOYS are more fun than school.

Shocking, simply shocking.

Should we also ban a few hundred episodes of The Simpsons where Bart says more or less the same thing? How far does this banning zeal extend?

I am not one for cheap quotes but I do believe a hearty chorus of "Lighten up, Francis" may be in order.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

7. It does send the wrong message.

Maybe not intentionally, but just more proof of a dumbed down society.

[Logical]

19. Lol, lighten up! nt

[SomethingFishy]

22. So does nearly every other commercial ever made...

I don't see how this is any worse than any other commercial. You are right about society being dumbed down, commercials are part of the reason. But not just this one...

[madaboutharry]

3. More proof that ad agencies are run by idiots.

[Archae]

9. What else is new?

[JVS]

5. It's like you can see the test scores dropping.

[Warren DeMontague]

37. People learn BEST through play, oddly enough.

I know, one would think that sticking a kid in a one room log cabin with a slate and a piece of chalk, making them memorize bible verses for 8 hours a day, would be the best thing for their brains, but apparently no.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

6. My mom saw it and she was very vocal about her disdain for it.

To the point where she said she would not be shopping there this Christmas season for my kids because of it, and that she'd be taking her business to other stores instead.

At the time, I hadn't seen it and thought she was overreacting a bit.

After seeing it online, however, I do see it as sending the wrong message. Probably not intentional but incredibly short minded by the marketing department. And while it's not enough for me to actually boycott Toys R Us, it does lessen my opinion of them.

Ironically, on Black Friday when people were mobbing stores like Toys R Us, I instead took my girls out to a nearby state park for a nature walk. And I'm happy to say they loved it and didn't want to be anywhere else.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

8. You're a great dad!

We need more like you that recognize kids are not just consumers.

[aikoaiko]

10. OFFS, it is a cute, fun commercial. Its not anti-ed or anti-science.

geesh

[RebelOne]

16. I agree. It is a cute ad. Nothing anti-environmental or anti-science in it. n/t

[AZ Progressive]

17. What about that scene showing a child yawning when the guy was talking about leaves?

BS, its a resonating message to kids that nature is boring and materialism is great.

[XemaSab]

18. Yup

n/t

[aikoaiko]

27. Oh the horror... a student was depicting yawning.

No, its tapping into a very common childhood experience...namely getting toys is sometimes more fun than an educational experience.

Its just a commercial.

[HappyMe]

11. I didn't think it was that bad.

I'm not signing the petition.

[antiquie]

12. I'm with you.

I spread my outrage carefully.

[snooper2]

13. Aw, kids go to school ever day and they turn one day into a big fun suprise

The fucking horror...


THE HORROR I TELL YOU

[SheilaT]

14. Haven't seen the ad, lucky me.

Not owning a television has the most amazing benefits.

[lightcameron]

15. Taken down?

Speech police at work again.

Ridiculous.

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. I rarely, any longer, sign petitions

I just did

[Logical]

21. My god, it is no big deal. Clever. nt

[vaberella]

23. I'm a teacher...I didn't think it was that bad.

I'd rather go to Toys'R'Us too...lately I've gotten into buying board games so my students (English language learners) can build up their vocabulary and exercise them in a fun atmosphere. Toys are not bad and could be made educational and the commercial wasn't that awful.

[AZ Progressive]

24. And all these comments from a LIBERAL website?

Wow, talk about being overrun by either the Third Way or right wing trolls. Kissers of the feet of the god of Capitalism. You can't tell me that propaganda against nature is harmless.

[aikoaiko]

28. Its harmless.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

34. Lol. Real liberals are upset about real issues. Not commercials that say

Toy stores are fun. I see a healthy dose of The Puritans made it through to current gene pool.

[pipi_k]

38. Just wanted to say...

that I am a huge nature lover.

I LOVE trees. And wild animals. Butterflies and flowers. Ponds, frogs, fish, etc.

And having said that, I didn't find it to be "propaganda against nature" in any respect.

Had those kids been turned loose in a museum of natural history, with animals and fossils and small scientific experiments they could play with, they would have been thrilled.

And it's not about "kissing the feet of the gods of capitalism".

It's about little kids being thrilled about having the run of a toy store, FGS.

Really...is this what being a "Liberal" has come to? Denying kids the fun of being kids?

As Pink Floyd said in their song, "The Wall"....

Leave those kids alone


PS...I won't sign that petition, and I hope it sinks to the bottom of the toilet, where it belongs.

[SomethingFishy]

25. A petition? Seriously?

This is what gives Tea Bagging idiots ammo when they say political correctness has gone way to far.

This is a toy commercial. It gives the wrong message. So does damn near every other commercial ever made. A commercial is designed to brainwash you into buying a specific product. There are no good and bad commercials. They are pretty much all bad.

[Prism]

29. It's anti boring as hell field trips

I'm a nature lover, go hiking at least once a week or so, and some of those school sponsored nature trips during childhood were absolutely excruciating. And usually for the same reason as depicted in the commercial. Instead of exploring and having fun, the teacher turned it into a glorified homework exercise.

Anti-science?

People are just looking for pointless things to get all worked up about these days. But at least there's a petition. So everyone feels useful, I guess.

Lord.

[pipi_k]

39. Exactly!!

I'm a nature lover, go hiking at least once a week or so, and some of those school sponsored nature trips during childhood were absolutely excruciating. And usually for the same reason as depicted in the commercial. Instead of exploring and having fun, the teacher turned it into a glorified homework exercise.

It's all in the presentation.

Just like, for example, sex. Most adults love it. Some are obsessed with it.

A dry-as-a-fart scientific lecture about the mechanics would no doubt cause 95% of the audience to fall asleep. Or walk out in disgust. Because they're adults and nobody has them trapped on a bus where they can't get away...

Make something interesting enough, and people...especially kids...aren't going to yawn in your face.

[Drunken Irishman]

30. lol

[Fla_Democrat]

32. Those poor kids

It's heartbreaking to watch. Imagine, being high-jacked from a trip to look at a tree, and being made to go to a toy store. Someone should be facing jail time over this stunt.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

33. You need to go take a walk or something. It was fun

[actslikeacarrot]

35. i dont really see the anti...

...science part. One of the toys one of the kids was shown playing with was a telescope. Honestly, I would choose a telescope over naming a leaf any day of the week.

[Warren DeMontague]

36. Oh, FFS. Hyperbole, much? There is no "climate change and science denial" in that ad.

It's about kids thinking they're going on a boring field trip.

I like trees as much as anyone, but folks need to get a fucking grip.

And yes, kids should be exposed to nature, too. Preferably in non-boring ways.

[Agschmid]

40. I wish there was a :unnecessary drama: smiley...

Oh wait there is..