I realize that not all children in the US are raised to believe in Santa Claus, but a lot are, maybe even most. I was, and I remember how devestated I was at seven years old when I found out there was no Santa when my aunt inquired about my mom buying one of my brother’s “Santa” presents.
So imagine my horror when I watched a new JC Penny commercial…It starts off with Dad and the Kiddies wrapping Mommy’s present, while she comes in with bags of her own, then shows them unwrapping the gifts. When it shows the little girl unwrapping hers the voice over is describing what you can buy at Penny’s including " Surprises from Santa." :eek:
Ack!!! What the fuck is wrong with them?? Either the people who ok’d this have no hearts, or no brains. They can’t think that little kids wouldn’t pay attention to the ads, since so many ads are aimed right at the under 10 set. I don’t know about you but were I a parent, the place with an ad that makes my kid upset is the last place on Earth I’d be doing my Christmas shopping.
“Most” kids? I doubt it. I never believed in Santa, and growing up, none of my friends did, either. Or at least, they wouldn’t admit to it. I don’t much like the idea of telling kids that Santa is real. I don’t think you should lie to kids like that. Sets a bad precedent. And I don’t think it’s really fair to blame JC Penny for kids potentially getting upset about Santa not exsisting. After all, they’re not the ones making up stories. You don’t want your kid to get upset, don’t lie to them about magical flying fat men who give presents to random children based on some arbitrary moral code.
You wouldn’t have been devastated at seven, if your parents had just leveled with you from the start.
I just can’t work up much sympathy here. I’ve heard people go on about how “magical” it is. But I can’t see what’s so magical about being lied to, no matter how wonderful that lie is. And while it’s any given parent’s choice, when it comes to what they teach their children, I don’t see that anyone else has any kind of responsibility to maintain that lie, or to censor themselves because of your personal beliefs.
I agree. Most kids are quite capable of telling the difference between a story and reality. I was certainly well aware that Santa was not real. Parents who deliberately lie to their children in order to convince them that Santa is real only cause them pain and humiliation later in life when they find out. Kids are imaginative. They can have fun with a story when they know it’s not real.
My parents both started out as teachers. So when my older sister was 3, they sat her down and explained to her that Santa was make-believe, as they didn’t want to perpetuate a lie to her. She promptly informed them that they were wrong, that Santa did exhist, and nothing they said would convince her otherwise. So they went with the flow.
I think it’s just stupid advertising on their part - if they’re marketing towards people wanting to buy “Santa’s” presents for their kids, then revealing the truth in the commercial is dumb, as they’ll piss off those same people!
(I grew up not believing in Santa as a real man, but as a ‘spirit of Christmas giving’, for what it’s worth. I don’t plan on having kids, but if I did I probably wouldn’t tell them he’s a real person either.)
When I was little, all the presents came from Mum, Dad, Nan and Gramps. No presents from Santa. Santa Claus was the big man in charge of the global logistics.
I totally think that is dumb advertising. They are encouraging the myth (which I don’t think there is anything wrong with) and they are sabotaging it at the same time.