CCFE lodge complaint against RTE for promoting Google marketing scheme.
December 2, 2008 by Joe Fogarty
The Campaign for Commercial-Free Education has today complained to RTE and the BCI about a report on children’s news show News2Day (19 Nov 2008) about the “Doodle 4 Google” promotion which seeks to make their corporate logo the focus of art lessons for school children as young as 5 years of age.
Internet giant Google has made an unsolicted approach to schools, urging teachers to have school children from Junior Infants upwards to design a new version of their corporate logo. The entry guidelines read “Please ensure that the Google logo is clearly visible and recognisable.” “Write the word ‘Google’ on the board and show the pupils a print out of the logo template.”
To view the report for yourself please click here.
The RTE report gave glowing, uncritical coverage to the marketing scheme and featured children from Tiermohan NS in Kildare as well as a company spokesperson.
Criticising the report as one-sided and commercially-biased, Campaign chairperson Joseph Fogarty said:
“Blandly promoting a commercially-driven exercise is not “providing News and Current Affairs that is fair and impartial, accurate and challenging” (RTE’s Strategic Framework Values p1). The widespread opposition to in-school marketing was entirely absent in this report. RTE should not be airing “Advertorials” straight from the marketing department to the childrens’ TV.”
The Irish National Teachers Organisation have stated that “Commercial logos, slogans, brand names or product orientated activities should not be presented to children in class either through posters, worksheets or certificates.” In September, 13 primary schools across Ireland were declared “Commercial-Free” for having a policy to filter out commercial marketing including branded competitions such as “Doodle for Google”.
