I’m a huge Sesame Street fan. I remember coming home from morning kindergarten and wolfing down my lunch so I could watch the show at noontime sharp. It was THAT good.

And it still is. I have a one-year-old son whose head does a 180 when a chorus of children gleefully singing “Sunny day, sweepin’ the clouds away…” bursts out of the TV. He’ll stare, mouth agape, at the colorful puppet characters for a good five minutes as they interact with him through the screen. Yes, five minutes. Hey, that’s a LOT to a toddler.

There are a myriad of reasons Sesame Street has thrived over the 40 years it has been in production. For one, they’re not afraid of change and they keep up with the times. Elmo knows how to surf the web. Miles shoots a video for a school project. They’ve even updated the theme song to a catchy little ditty. But they also know when classic characters should stay put. Everyone knows who Big Bird, Ernie, and Grover are. Heck, even Gordon, Maria, Linda and Bob, the NON-puppets, are still “living” there! And they stick with core values that are reinforced in every preschool, nursery and elementary school, while incorporating different cultures, and people of different races and abilities.

But beyond those reasons, Sesame Street has been a master at incorporating technology in a very smart way. Their web site is easy to use and encourages learning with interactive games and allows parents and children to personalize their very own “My Street” site. The site is an extension of the show, and changes daily to reflect the daily show’s theme – featuring the letter of the day as well as videos of the day. There are even Sesame Street iPhone aps, a lifesaver for parents who need to keep their children entertained while waiting at a restaurant or in line in the grocery store. Who doesn’t want to help Elmo create a monster on “Elmo’s Monster Maker?”

What Sesame Street does NOT do is incorporate product placement in their episodes. Although it is a show that needs corporate funding to stay afloat, I don’t know if I have EVER seen a brand-name product mentioned or strategically placed in a scene. I remember reading a Mommy blogger complain that a character delivered Pampers, instead of plain diapers, to Gina the veterinarian on one episode. I’m not sure if that was an oversight on the producers’ parts, but some people were offended. Really. There must be a reason, though, that Sesame Street does NOT use trademarked products (something to do with the public broadcasting piece of this pie, perhaps?). Would it make a difference if it did? Obviously they have sponsors like American Greetings and Earth’s Best Organic Baby Food, but I usually see that in a form of a PSA or commercial before the episode airs. Interesting.

So, congratulations Sesame Street for creating a program that has been more than just a children’s show for 40 years: You have successfully put meaning into television. Here’s hoping for another 40 more… at least.

posted by Rob, Griffin York & Krause Interactive

Lately, my six-year-old daughter has been all over me about how awesome the Burger King Kid’s Meal is. I asked her why and she said all of her friends at school “just love it”. Of course, we went to find out ourselves. I was surprised to see that not only can you choose the typical tiny burgers or chicken nuggets, but menu options now include things like Kraft macaroni & cheese and apple fries (fresh apple slices cut to look like french fries, but aren’t fried). It is no shocker that fast-food is trying to get healthier, doing things like converting to trans-fat free cooking oil and providing more transparency about the nutritional value of their food items online.

This got me to thinking about the power of branding and advertising related to fast food and children. In a study published last year, the “Effects of Fast Food Branding On Young Children’s Taste Preferences” Archives of Pediatrics (vol 161, p792-797), 63 three-to-five year olds sampled two meals, both from McDonalds. One of the meals was wrapped in plain packaging, while the other was wrapped in McDonald’s branded packaging. The majority of the children in the study thought the meals in the McDonald’s branded packaging actually tasted better than those in the plain packaging, despite being the exact same food items.

The Federal Trade Commission reports that food and beverage companies spent $1.6 billion in 2006 on advertising aimed at children. That’s a huge number spent on such an impressionable audience – is it any wonder that childhood obesity is a growing problem? An obvious question in my mind, also raised by the study, is can all of this fast-food branding power still be used to promote consumption of more healthy foods and healthy choices by children in general? For example, one of the foods tested in the study was plain baby carrots, which were are not even offered by McDonald’s. As you might expect, the children responded more positively to eating baby carrots in McDonald’s packaging than in plain packaging.

As a parent, will I turn to Ronald McDonald or the Burger King to help get my daughter to eat her veggies? Maybe not, but I might think twice about it if they start pushing real veggies like broccoli, cucumbers and brussel sprouts in Kid’s Meals. My daughter, for one, will opt for the Apple Fries, her way.