Our Consumer Watchpuppies
Kara, 11, had a problem with last year’s ad for the Stuart Little Roadster. The TV commercial for the remote-controlled car showed it zipping all around a store. “The ad made me think it could do special tricks, but it can’t,” Kara said.
With comments like that, the ad flunked the truth-in-advertising test sponsored by Zillions, a Web site (https://www.zillions.org) that helps kids learn how to use their money wisely. It’s run by Consumers Union, an organization that tests grown-up products such as cars, stereos and dishwashers and writes about them in Consumer Reports magazine.
Zillions has no ads and is free to online users. It has all sorts of information on popular kids’ products, such as backpacks, travel games and sports toys. It has even reviewed amusement park rides, giving high marks to roller coasters that go upside down, low grades to carousels (they were considered “boring”).
Several Web pages are devoted to scooters, including advice on how to use them safely and ratings of eight different brands. Eighteen helmeted riders rode them for a day and then graded them for their handling, braking, speed and “foldability.” The winner? The $100 Razor, made by JD Industries; the losers were the $50 Stinger by Variflex Inc. and the $80 Assault by Pacific Cycle.
*
Consumers Union had been publishing Zillions as a magazine to help kids question ads and become smart shoppers. But last summer, it was decided that the Internet was a better way to reach kids. “By going online, we could make information available to kids anywhere and everywhere, and for free,” said Charlotte Baecher, editor of Zillions Online.
By being on the Web, Zillions can be more interactive, Baecher said. It can post comments and reviews weekly (only first names and ages are printed, and there’s little editing--just a review to make sure there’s no foul language or criticism of other comments posted by other kids).
One popular feature is “Money Q&A;,” in which kids help solve other people’s money problems. For example, a girl named Nancy asked what she should do if friends never paid back the money they borrowed. The answers: Nag borrowers, help them pay up, forget about it, or avoid the problem by never loaning money.
*
As for this holiday season’s misleading toy commercials, Zillions wants kids to nominate bad ads that make toys seem better than they really are.
“Look at all the ads directed at kids,” said Baecher. “It’s important that they have objective information to make good decisions for themselves and learn good consumer skills.” Zillions is not just about how to spend, Baecher added. “It also empowers them to handle their own money in successful ways.”
