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The web has always been a ripe landscape for games and toys. Not only are traditional computer games introducing web versions where players can compete with friends, but online games are also adding social elements where people can meet and play against one another. Increasingly, these games are aimed at a demographic not usually represented in web advertising: kids. The ten-and-under set is a ripe market for advertisers hawking anything from the latest action figure or doll to snack foods, and they are perfectly able to influence the purse strings of their parents. Now, advertisers are luring younger kids online to play games and absorb marketing messages.

I was surprised to see my three year-old niece expertly navigate to PBSkids.org to play a game featuring Curious George. The site includes audio as you roll over buttons to help children who cannot yet read to navigate the site. While the games are educational in keeping with PBS’s mission, they all star characters from hit children’s shows, like Clifford the Big Red Dog, Dragon Tales, and Sesame Street. Kids are no strangers to these brands, and they will remember the awesome Caillou game they play when their birthdays roll around. PBS also has a similar site called PBSkidsplay.org, which requires a subscription of $10 a month.

Another site that caters to children is AddictingGames.com, which is owned and operated by Viacom, parent company to Nickelodeon and MTV. This site mixes clever Flash-based games with online advertising. Players are invited to play and rate games from sponsors like Acuvue and Neopets. As a recent New York Times article puts it, “Clicking through and hopping from site to site will give a child a crash course in the latest Bratz movies or Hannah Montana concert.” The site also features plenty of games for older children and adults, giving it a wider appeal.

On a recent visit, my eleven year-old relative would wake up in the early morning hours and head straight for my laptop. His destination was Line Rider, an addictive online game that challenges players to create line drawings for a virtual sledder to follow like the peaks and valleys of a real hill. The game has some of the lessons of elementary physics, but it’s really just about creating an entertaining and nearly impossible sledding hill. Unlike PBSkids or AddictingGames, Line Rider is not associated with a major TV channel or toy company, but it is quickly building a brand that transcends age groups. By the end of the week-long visit, the eleven year-old wasn’t the only one spending hours creating and saving tracks online.

While all of the above mentioned games are free (or boast free versions), still other sites catering to children have some free content and some that requires a parent’s credit card. The granddaddy of these types of sites is Webkinz, which pairs a retail item (the plush toy comes with a code for the website) with online content. The “pets” are both virtual and physical, and kids can go online to take care of their toys. Webkinz also incorporates a social networking function where children can visit friends’ pets and even chat, though parents can control their level of access. The site gives new areas for each different pet, and kids are urged to collect them all. As the New York Times reports, “Some parents have been known to load up on dozens of Webkinz at $14 each.”

While it may be tempting to park kids in front of the computer, even on child-oriented sites they are inundated with advertising and marketing messages. As the Webkinz generation ages, they will not only have an extraordinary level of web literacy, but they will also accept the presence of sponsored content and subscription sites in a way that older web users do not. With the integration of television shows, toys, and the web, we’re bound to see more and more online advertising aimed at the Barney set.

Thursday, May 8th, 2008 You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

By Haley January Eckels