Admongo

During the second quarter of 2010, the FTC plans to launch a multimedia initiative, called AdMongo, which is designed to promote advertising literacy among tweens &mdash; children aged 8-12. Children spend billions of dollars a year on products and services, and influence billions more in family purchases. Advertising is ubiquitous, and the distinction between advertising and other content in new media &mdash; advergames, for example &mdash; often is blurred. It is likely that many children may not understand when they are being “pitched” a product or service.

The goals of Admongo are to: (1) teach children to be aware of advertising and marketing messages; (2) teach them how to read, analyze, and understand ads; and (3) show them the benefits of being an informed consumer.

The campaign focuses on three key questions that are central to helping children develop these critical thinking skills: (1) Who is responsible for the ad? (2) What does the ad actually say? (3) What does the ad want you to do?

The heart of the campaign is Admongo.gov, an interactive website that teaches core ad literacy concepts through an entertaining game with multiple levels and challenges. A curriculum, developed in partnership with Scholastic, Inc., was designed to equip children with the skills they need to recognize why, where, and how commercial messages are constructed and placed. The FTC is working with Scholastic and other partners to disseminate the free materials to schools, libraries, and other organizations so teachers, parents and others can use it to educate the tweens in their lives.