Cele|bitchy found this thought-provoking quote from Brad Pitt about what little consumers his children aren’t:
“The kids don’t ask for big gifts for the reason that they don’t see a lot of the American cartoon television, which is packed with all those manipulative commercials for big toys that look so fantastic.
“When they do see that stuff is when they start asking for the toys, so we figure if they don’t see them they won’t know they’re there.”
Now don’t get me wrong, it’s totally his right to control what his kids are and are not allowed to watch.
But there’s just a hint of deception here. Some of his pseudo-wife’s biggest money-making ventures rely on kids being sold a bunch of junk. Like the Kung Fu Panda Sword of Heroes, or the Tomb Raider video games.
Sorry, but I don’t buy that Brad and Angie beg their producers not to make and market these toys to kids. This is just more of the holier-than-thou schtick that has become their stock in trade.
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Sort of like bad mouthing the person that is handing you a check for such msrketing will cleanse your soul??
Well to be fair, Tomb Raider came before Angelina. You know what I mean. Either way, these people live off marketing so they shouldn’t be badmouthing it. Heck, the interview is marketing. Way to help out in New Orleans though Brad.
It doesn’t seem to me like they’re badmouthing it, per se. It just looks like they’re noting the fact that they don’t let their kids watch certain things.
And I think it’s fair to say a ton of people do things, that they wouldn’t want their kids to do.
I try not to let my kids watch commericals either.
I have to go with Annie on this one. I can see where the calling out “hypocrisy” lies, but at the same time, all they are doing is what a lot of parents do, even after they take their kids to see the movie or play the video game.
Annie – that’s such a B.S. argument. “And I think it’s fair to say a ton of people do things, that they wouldn’t want their kids to do.”
Even if that’s the case, what are they REALLY saying then? “We’re smart and cultured enough to keep our children away from the mass-marketing strategies that made us millionaires, but it’s just fine to use them to bilk the ignorant masses.”
If it’s bad for YOUR kids, it’s bad for ALL kids. That’s like taking pride that your kid is drug free, while at the same time selling dope to the rest of his school. Yeah, real class act there.
It still smacks a little bit of biting the hand that feeds. Maybe not so much biting it as criticizing it. It’s a hard call, though. I mean, every parent has the right to make this decision–personally, when I have kids, they won’t even know what television is–but at the same time, if everybody took the view Bradley’s endorsing there, well . . . he’d be out some serious money.
I look at it this way. If you are a porn star, and that’s how you have made your fortune, that doesn’t mean that you’d necessarily want your kids to watch your movies. Now, it would delve into the realm of hypocrisy if you ban your adult child from watching porn (not talking about your own, obviously, because ew, there’s bigger issues if your kids are watching your porn and you are not bothered by it), and went on a crusade against its very existence for their benefit.
So, yeah, Mommy got you a bike thanks to her work in Kung Fu Panda, but that doesn’t mean you are allowed to be an entitled little brat because you want every Kung Fu Panda related toy that you see on TV. And in the end, restricting easily influenced kids from watching too much TV isn’t a bad thing, even if you’re on it. Kids are kids, and they need control, structure, and should learn to develop a mind of their own, no matter who their parents are.
I’m really tired and hope that made sense.
Seems like this is just Angie’s way of bragging and once more rubbing in how she and her kids are better than you and yours could ever hope to be in a million years.
stop putting a microphone under brad and angie’s mouth and then we won’t hear the nonsense that’s in their heads that they’re dying to share with the rest of the world…
It seems like everytime the kids ask for a big toy Angelina just adopts another child for them to play with.
How much do one of them cost?
these 2 make me ill. kinda off topic, but wonder if jenna jameson will show her twins (whenever they’re gonna be born) her “movies” someday?
Scott F: Two things.
1) Are you an attorney? Because you will argue ANY point, no matter what it is.
2) Did Celebitchy finally ban you from their site? It’s been awhile since you’ve posted your arguments there, I’ve noticed.
It’s perfectly normal to have a difference of opinion, but the cumulative way in which you present it seems like you have major anger issues. Seriously. Lighten up a bit, eh?
Back OT though, I have to agree with “Letinstar”, I’ve about had enough of them.
(and let the attack from Scott F begin)
I agree with letinstar. Stop asking these people questions unrelated to the products they are marketing.
Besides does anyone really believe that Brad and Angie actually run after their kids and tell them “no”. That is what the hired help does. Mommy and Daddy have to be the good guys. St. Angie can never be the bad one.
Well, apparently some mass marketed toys are okay with Mr. & Mrs. Smith:
http://www.theinsider.com/news/1336921_Angelina_Jolie_s_Kids_Love_Kung_Fu_Panda
Brad: “We don’t let them watch a lot of tv and thus don’t see commercials for big toys. We have gifts but we encourage our children to make things for each other and put time into it.”
Reaction: “Omg, you profit from selling toys on TV but your kids don’t watch TV and thus don’t ask for them! You are hypocrites.”
I work for a company that makes satellite control software. Perhaps I should be buying that for my children or I’m a fraud too?
If you want to argue that they “beg their producers not to make and market these toys to kids”, then you’ll have to provide a different source, as your final statement is backed up nowhere in this article. Right now this article demonstrates the conflict between their attitudes as business people and their attitudes as parents. That’s a fairly common conflict in my experience.
If there were ads for Children’s Cigarettes on Nikelodeon, kids would be clamoring for them.
Ads create the market and certain groups, like childeren, are extremely susceptible to marketing.
The kids probably got a ton of free Kung Fu Panda merchandising shipped straight from the manufacturer so there is no issue there. If Brad/Skank want to keep their kids from wanting other toys fine by me.
oh helloooo!! Pitt is bashing American television, of course!!! he reckons all american kids are whiners and beggars!!! how strange that they celebrate Christmas!!! i thought that dont fit into their equasion!!!
why do this eeewww couple despise the US yet they keep feeding of it??? you guys must be desperate to have such celebs to idolize
Take it easy, hagar. To claim that even the likable stars that make it onto this site are somehow idolized by the regular readers is so inaccurate that it it’s comical. Just because they choose not to live in the US doesn’t mean that they hate it. I am a proud American that chooses to live in England. Big deal. And why wouldn’t they celebrate Christmas, unless they are Jewish or belong to some other religion that doesn’t celebrate it, which by the way, wouldn’t make them bad people.
Furthermore, hagar, your overuse of !!!! and ???? makes it hard to take you seriously.
Cari – No, not banned, just not a sadist. I’m apparently not ‘progressive’ enough for the stay at home mom crowd, and I’m alright with that.
And no, THIS is not an anger problem. An anger problem would be bottling it up for 10 years and going postal – what you’re seeing is just a general disdain for humanity, which is pretty normal for someone like myself.
I’m also not a lawyer, in fact, I pretty much only argue things that I personally believe in, as there’s little sense in disagreeing just to be disagreeable. But your ideas about debate are the same reason I no longer interact with the hand-wringers over at CB. I’m under no obligation to ‘be nice’ to anyone, especially if they’re being a moron. Since you appear to be a loyal CB reader though, let me take the liberty of finishing this thought for you “It’s perfectly normal to have a difference of opinion” – ‘but you’d better not express it if it differs from what ‘norm’ decided by the majority of users’.
Chronic Malanga – !!!!!!!!!whaterver!!!????!!!!?!?!?!?!
echelon – “I work for a company that makes satellite control software. Perhaps I should be buying that for my children or I’m a fraud too?”
Hm, now you are getting it, think of the hours of joy your kids will have deciphering binary
Habanada – “…when I have kids, they won’t even know what television is…”
Uh, good luck with that, love to hear how that goes. I have 4 little demons and the TV is rarely used but when it is all hear from the youngest is “I wnat, I want, I want”. My response is to either blatantly ignore the child our scream back until I am hoarse.
Yea, I know. No need to nominate me, I am already up for parent of the year.
D—- ??????!!!!!!!Parent of the Year!!!!!!????
Angie buys matching $1000 handbags for her daughters. That’s way better than toys!
D—-
It’ll be really easy for me, actually, ’cause I’m not even planning on having kids
I hate kids.
But I already don’t have a TV and don’t notice not having it; and I sure don’t plan on getting one in the future.
Well, since they have six nannies (but sometimes “try to make do with 4″), they are not the ones watching their kids or hearing them whine anyway. They probably receive memos from the nannies as to what their children want and will get it for them as long it is not an “evil” commercial item. They are just as materialistic as other celebrities & this is just a way to put themselves above everyone else so they can backhandedly comment on how “stupid & greedy” the rest of us poor, pitiful Americans are.
You know, it pains me to see so many people in this thread completely and utterly missing the big elephant in the room. Is this a good parenting style? I really believe it to be detrimental to the kids in the long run.
What does this parenting strategy teach them? ‘AVOID TEMPTATION! You do not have the self-control necessary to make a good decision!’ Which IS true, especially with children, but how the hell do you expect them to learn self control if they’re never required to use it? This is exactly why I don’t like the way we treat alcoholism in this country – all or nothing is easy, MODERATION and DISCIPLINE are hard.
What happens when these kids grow up, having never learned any self-control? This is why ever 20 year old that moves out these days runs up 10 grand of credit card debt in the first few months. I weep for the nation of pansy’s we’re weening who are being taught to avoid anything that forces them to actually ::gasp:: make a decision.
No, keeping them from watching commercials is just a way to AVOID telling your kids ‘no’. “But little billy throws a temper tantrum when I tell him no!” And? Life is tough, and if you don’t teach him that he can’t have everything he wants, then he’ll learn it the hard way later on. Just remember, adults don’t get do-overs.
Yea, I guess this isn’t hypocrisy. If anyone knows the “evils” of marketing it’s these two. They are all intimate with the marketing that positions them to demand X millions of dollars per film. The marketing that promotes the film so that it can be a success and they can continue to demand X millions of dollars. The marketing that’s responsible for tie-ins and cross promotion. The marketing that gets them on the Tonight Show when they have a new film to promote. The marketing that makes them really “cool” people. They should know how “evil” it is, how it can get inside you and lead you to rob, steal and cheat. It’s good that they’re keeping their seventeen thousand children away from it. After all wouldn’t want them to find out about something because they saw it on the TV, read about it in a magazine, or caught a glimpse of a billboard. Not like they’re parents and could say ‘no’ or anything like that. It’s better to remain the good guy, keep the TV off and have the children do arts and crafts for each other. That’s really super.
And why is it that we discuss anything he says? It couldn’t have anything to do with his fame. Because that would be the result of those “evil” marketing devils who took advantage of his good nature and put him in the public spotlight when all he wanted to do was walk around bare chested in films. It must be because he’s the World’s Greatest Dad. Bestowed upon him by an unbiased bipartisan global commission on parenting, I’m sure.
Where does he live again? I still need to make my annual pilgrimage to kiss the ground he walks upon and genuflect before the Womb of Angelina.
Sorry D
Scott F. just won first prize for parenting philosophy of the year.
Oddly enough, growing up, I don’t even remember wanting the crap on TV. I’ve said for years that children basically like what they’re told to like, so that my six-year-old neice who doesn’t even know what Hannah Montana *is* sees a t-shirt at Wal Mart and goes, “Ooh, I LOVE that show!” And my sister promptly ignores her and I tell her Hannah Montannah is the spawn of the devil, and she asks what spawn is, and I start explaining reproduction . . .
Brad Pitt teaching his children about “self-control”?
Ha ha ha!
You’re right, Scott F. While I don’t think it’s great for kids to be stuck in front of the TV, begging for everything they see, when I was a kid, I watched a lot of TV. If there was something I wanted and my parents wouldn’t or couldn’t get it for me, a simple “No” was enough. They didn’t even have to explain themselves.
Habanada – “And my sister promptly ignores her and I tell her Hannah Montannah is the spawn of the devil, and she asks what spawn is, and I start explaining reproduction . . .”
YOU are awesome!
My kids range from 9 – 14 and we regularly discuss marketing, ads (politicial and commercial) and other ways the big corporate machines try to convince you that you need their product. Which then plays into branding a product, determining quality, price differences, manufacturing origin and value. So TV is not all bad but you actually have to talk to your kids.
@ Scott F, that argument is good in principle but falls down in practice. Here in the UK in an average Nickelodeon Kids TV break there are ads for about £400-worth of toys, and they’re on every 15 minutes. It’s saturation and bombardment of very impressionable minds. The word ‘no’ is not equal to the task. And good for Brad for saying this by the way, he is exactly right and it’s stupid to slag him off for being a good parent. To the people who are saying that Brangelina profit from marketing – well, yes they do, like most of us if we’re honest – but there is a huge difference between marketing aimed at adults and that aimed at children.
Hey Poppa – “It’s saturation and bombardment of very impressionable minds.”
Yeah. And? They’re going to be bombarded by ads for everything from cars to ED medication for the rest of their lives, don’t you think they’d better start building an immunity to it BEFORE they move out of your house and start spending like drunken sailors? They have a better chance of seeing through the B.S. while still at home with you to help guide them.
Oh, and if ‘No’ isn’t up to the task, it’s because your kid doesn’t respect you, not the marketing people.
Woah Woah Woah!!! Hold up!! Okay so let me get this straight? They don’t want their kids watching toy commercials, because they don’t want to buy them fancy big expensive toys (probablay because they’d rather use the money on all their houses and ugly ass furniture for THEMSELVES-typical narcissists!!) BUT, It’s okay for maddox to look at guns and weapons on the internet, which they brag about and think is soooo cute, and to parade them around like a bunch of sideshow freaks for the paparazzi??? There’s the hypocracy people!!! I really hate these two with the fire of 10,000 Suns, and I wish more of the general public would wise up to these egocentric douchbags, and turn on them like they did to Tom Cruise!! Humility is a blesing, It’s done Tom some good, Lord knows it could do them a hella lotta good!!
Well, one thing you can guarantee, however you choose to bring up your children there will be a whole bunch of people who think you’re doing it wrong. Got to go now, there’s a 2 year old wants to do some painting. Evil, manipulative paint marketeers.
Scott F.: There is a huge gap between very young children and high school seniors. The time to teach kids about moderation is when they can actually understand what moderation *is*. While it can start early on to some degree, your approach of letting the world throw anything it wants to throw at an unprotected young child is more careless than anything else. Let the kid be a kid. Let him grow up a little bit, and as he grows, expose him more and more to what’s out there. It doesn’t have to happen all at once.
I agree with Scott F. on this. I watch TV, and I do ask for things I want. My parents say no, and the conversation is over. Parents need to learn how to be parents first, then their child’s friends second.
Those kids don’t have to ask for anything, they already have it. Private trips to toy stores, four wheelers, gigantic estate, knives and designer purses, private jet to take them all over the world. Check, check, and check. More crap than any child needs.
They have alot of money so their kids can have those things, fine. But don’t act so holier than thou because your kids don’t ask for things when in fact they’re more spoiled than the average kids.