Catch Them Young

Manufacturers of food products were swift to catch on to the notion that the surest way to attract the consumer is via their offspring. If the product is offering attractive low-value freebies the children will promote the product to their parents at no extra cost. The child of the 1930s, from whence these examples come, had simple and uncomplicated tastes – some fey illustrations of nursery rhymes, an alphabet or a painting book were enough to engage their interest. The subject matter suggests a consensus view that daughters exercised greater influence on parental buying habits than their brothers, all too busy indulging an unhealthy obsession with Meccano to take any interest in shopping.