Dodging Disney In The Delivery Room

[The Straight Story]

Dodging Disney In The Delivery Room


Typically, the last thing you'd want to see in the hospital is a mouse. Especially on the maternity ward. But earlier this week, The New York Times reported that Disney has begun sending sales reps into 580 hospitals nationwide. The reps are offering new moms, within hours of giving birth, a free Disney Cuddly Bodysuit for their babies if they sign up for e-mail alerts from DisneyBaby.com. The idea is to encourage mothers to infuse their infants with brand loyalty as if it is mother's milk.

Suddenly the delivery room command to "push" has a whole new meaning.

Disney Baby is modeled on the staggering success among preschoolers of the Disney Princess, launched in 2000 after a Disney executive noticed little girls at an ice show dressed in — horrors! — homemade princess outfits. That massive branding opportunity was soon corrected, and within a decade Disney Princess went from earning $300 million a year to an annual $4 billion. There are currently more than 26,000 Disney Princess products.

Now, Disney has identified another problem: Children are not becoming consumers of its products until preschool, resulting in a good three years of potential revenue loss. Getting an expectant mom thinking about her family's first theme-park visit while her child was in the womb, an exec told the Times, would be like hitting "a home run."

http://www.npr.org/2011/02/10/133627064/dodging-disney-in-the-delivery-room?ps=cprs

[DCBob]

1. This should be illegal.. WTF are salesmen doing in maternity wards?

Seems like a safety/sanitation violation.

[Shagbark Hickory]

18. What if they were saleswomen?

Who said anything about men?
I know boys are icky and all that but c'mon.

[Confusious]

2. Is there anything an exec won't find too disgusting? nt

[XanaDUer]

3. Here's a better idea

one I see coming down the road soon...

As soon as a kid is pushed outta the birth canal, or cut out, tattoo some type of ad on its forehead. Coca-Cola, NIKE, whatever. After all, foreheads are valuable advertising spaces that should be used asap, so there is no lost revenue at all and no down time. The kid will see it every time s/he looks in a mirror; family will see the ad(s) at the dinner table, if they are eating together en masse anymore; and other kids will see it whenever they look at the kid's face.

Because, after all, in the Land of The Shill, we must be bombarded with advertising and consumerism 24/7. Wall Street is waiting. Don't keep Wall Street waiting!

[Stuckinthebush]

4. Why is anyone surprised?

That is capitalism for you. Push your product so people will buy it. The stronger the brand identity the greater the sales.

Is it right or wrong? Not necessarily either. Is it crass? Yes.

For good or ill we live in a society that not only celebrates capitalism but worships it. Many Christian religions (and I did make that plural) intertwine the philosophies of capitalism, democracy, and christianity so tightly that the only way to untangle the knot is with a sword.

I have ceased to become outraged at these types of overt, crass, capitalistic endeavors. I just shrug and say, "Ain't that America?"

[XanaDUer]

5. And until Americans stand up and say no to this type of stuff

it will get worse and worse.

[Stuckinthebush]

6. That's just it.

This type of crap works! They wouldn't do it otherwise.

Americans won't say no because they don't know how to say no. We love our Disney! Hell, I've taken my kids to the mega-expensive-world-of-happy-happy Disney World. WHy? Well because it is part of the American psyche. I critically analyzed the stupid trip the whole time but the kids had fun.

Disney won't stop. Before you know it, they will find a way to put temporary mickey tattoos on fetuses while piping in "It's a Small World" to all delivery rooms.

Hail Walt!

:)

[knitter4democracy]

7. They do this with other products, so why not Disney?

Formula, pacifiers, you name it, all that branding starts in the hospital with the goodie bags moms get. Heck, it starts before that in the Ob/Gyn's office. Disney's just been slow on the uptake.

[Celebration]

8. Yeah, I say

Make it part of that Goodie back............a coupon for the free thing if you do email signup.

Definitely a mouse rep visiting rooms is way off base.

[Zephie]

9. I'm all about getting free stuff.

In these crap economic times, I've become so totally desensitized to the advertising aspect of things like this, and am just excited to be receiving something and not pay for it. I have an email set up for the spam mail from free offers and just walk off with free stuff. In the end, I feel that if they want to take advantage of us we might as well take advantage right back. I'd love to get a free piece of clothing for my (hypothetical) baby... Just don't expect it to make me come back to you any time soon.

I do think. however, that in the USA most parents and parents to be have considered their Disney trip at least once before they have a baby. I know my husband and I have.

[Gemini Cat]

12. Question

You said: "...however, that in the USA most parents and parents to be have considered their Disney trip at least once before they have a baby. I know my husband and I have."

My question is why? I'm not trying to be an asshole by asking. I'm just curious, considering there are so many other fun parks in the US, not to mention all the natural wonders and human made wonders, why is talking a kid to Disney a consideration?

[Zephie]

14. For me there are several reasons

One I guess would be that since we live in Florida anyway, not going would be strange. I suppose it's really just such a cultural thing at this point that it's considered unusual to not have been to Disney at least once. I actually did not go to Disney until my 18th birthday and my entire childhood I felt a bit left out, as all my friends would go and come back with stories about how wonderful it was. I don't think I actually had any friends who hadn't gone at some point or another, it's just so ingrained. Perhaps that isn't a good thing, but it just strikes me as a rite of passage situation.

[XanaDUer]

10. Kick

nt.

[Earth_First]

11. How is this even hygenic to have random salespeople wandering maternity wards...

I'd have words with these bloodsuckers if it were me and my wife!

[SoCalDem]

13. Dad cannot take pictures of the newborn, but Disney can force their way in

:shrug:

[Nye Bevan]

15. A free bodysuit in exchange for agreeing to get email alerts? Sounds like a great deal to me.

I certainly wouldn't ban Disney from going around and giving out free baby clothes. And there's nothing to stop people from unsubscribing the first time they receive one of the emails.

[leftstreet]

17. Agree

In fact I'd encourage the trend. Manufacturers of clothing, food, baby items, hell yeah!

Kids and parents need all the help they can get

[Odin2005]

16. FUCK CONSUMERISM!!!

:grr:

[Ilsa]

19. Sounds like a good reason to keep a "commercial" email account.

One to use to sign up for shit in case you have a hard time unsubscribing.