Secre Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 I wandered over to turmac roll from my favourites today and got met with what I consider to be a rather inappropriate advert considering that neopets has a large amount of 5-15 year olds on it. The advert states in bold letters: 'If you should die unexpectedly... Life cover from only £5 per month' Am I wrong in assuming that a large amount of children will be playing this site? Or that children are far more susceptible to advertising? Or that this appears to be a remarkably inappropriate advert because of that? I do not hold to the views that children are innocent and need to be protected, but that blatant remark to their mortality and possible sudden death seems rather callous to me. EDIT: Inappropriate is spelled wrong in the title - I'd be grateful if a mod could change it for me! Cameron edit: Fixed! ^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlt12889 Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 While the ad may have been inappropriately targeted (life insurance on a children's game site), I don't see anything wrong with having the ad on neopets. Death is a natural part of life and I don't think it's something that children should be oblivious of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
englandnz Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 I personally see no harm in giving children the message that they or somebody they know could die rather unexpectedly. The sooner they understand this, the sooner they will appreciate the true value of life. It's all part of growing up, and of they're old enough to play neo, then they're old enough to be taught this lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Secre Posted March 7, 2010 Author Share Posted March 7, 2010 I'll agree that children have to get used to the idea of death - through the death of a hamster, dog or grandparent. Children are brought into the reality of life in that death does exist. But the idea of the child themselves dying is something that occurs later and I do not think it is appropriate to advertise insurance packages on a site on which most people will be ineligible for in the first place. Yes, death is a natural cycle of life, but in modern times we have hit a trend of facing personal mortality at a later age than five to ten years old. Should the advert have simply stated "life insurance from £5 a month", I would not be so objectionable to the advert being displayed, because this would allow for parental discretion in how the children should be educated on this topic. Learning so overtly from an internet advert, however, is an inappropriate introduction to the subject in general, and thus I believe that the advert is inappropriate for the site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
englandnz Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 I see where you're coming from, but I personally believe that the idea that one is not invincible should be taught from a young age. Perhaps 5 is just a tad too young, but by 8-10, children really ought to understand mortality, including their own. At what point should we stop hiding the truth of the world from children? The problem with hiding something such as mortality is that some children, even into there early or mid teens still believe that they cannot die, and there actions sometimes reflect this (think boy racers). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Ryan Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Hey, just be glad they don't have those ads for the jacka** show anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonlady Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Hey, just be glad they don't have those ads for the jacka** show anymore. Are you serious? I can't believe they would do that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrtbrk Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Unfortunately, they cannot pick and choose which ads to show before hand or even know what ads are showing unless it's brought to their attention. If you feel it's inappropriate, email TNT a link to the website stating as such. Chances are they will probably contact the ad agency and have it removed. A lot of ad companies have codes that can search IP address to get your location (that's why you might see ads about things in your city) or they can read your age/text/searches etc. This might show up for a younger user but it's not definite. The ads might know you're not between the ages of 5-15. Best bet is to email TNT the link and describe the contents of the advert. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler. Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 I've seen a lot worst adverts. and these are nothing compared to those Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viridian Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Since I'm dutch I see different adds than you guys... You'll only find Dating site adds over here, I complained to Neopets that that's all 18+ stuff, but they wouldn't listen to me after having mailed me back just once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrtbrk Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Since I'm dutch I see different adds than you guys... You'll only find Dating site adds over here, I complained to Neopets that that's all 18+ stuff, but they wouldn't listen to me after having mailed me back just once. Oh for real? :( I saw on the HC that you're supposed to email them so they can take care of it. *thumbs down* I'd still bring it to their attention though, because they should know about it. Be proactive! haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viridian Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 I emailed it to them, yea.. Not sure what ads are on there now, using Adblock :P But they never replied to my emails.. so I guess they didn't bother since you didn't actually 'see' anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arliona Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 What motivated me to get yet another FF plugin to block all the ads on Neopets was the ads I kepts seeing in the gamesroom. They were French ads for "improving your male performance winkwinknudgenudge" :sad01_anim: I reported them too, dunno if TNT did anything about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyssa Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Since I'm dutch I see different adds than you guys... You'll only find Dating site adds over here, I complained to Neopets that that's all 18+ stuff, but they wouldn't listen to me after having mailed me back just once. Yeah me too, but they just ignored it. There were libido ads and all that. Also a lot of bra ads (with women in bra's of course). Guess TNT does not care about small children seeing those ads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Secre Posted March 7, 2010 Author Share Posted March 7, 2010 I have to admit some of the ads you've been describing are much worse than the one which annoyed me...I just got rather aggravated about it - but I'd be much more annoyed about the 'improve your sexual prowess' adverts and the like. Hmm...surely there's a way in which they can screen what adverts they allow on their site considering it is their site. And thanks for editing the typo out of the title! Much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masaryk Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 I've had Bud Light ads on Neopets before. You know, the ones with women wearing very little clothing. So that's an ad for alcoholic beverages, containing the blatant sexualisation of women on a family gaming site. I complained about this one, not so much because I have a problem with beer ads, but because I don't know if the advertising is targeted for certain age groups or not. It might be fine for me, but not for people below the legal drinking age, and it possibly could have caused problems had I logged in to Neopets at a school (while subbing). I wouldn't want Neopets to be blocked from school computers because of ads. I'm pretty sure that ads are targeted, according to the age entered for your account, but it still doesn't excuse some ads, especially since they might not be work-safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dojorkan Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 had I logged in to Neopets at a school (while subbing). I wouldn't want Neopets to be blocked from school computers because of ads. It would already be blocked for being games. Thats the way it was when I was in high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tempdisplay Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 To actually be honest with you guys, I like the ads. Like when I was playing games and saw a ad, I'd consider it and if my family got in a situation, like a place to go on vacation, I'll suggest something I saw in the ads. They work. However I do think those ads shouldn't be on there, not nice and the MYA ones :P But the Mobile Phone ones are good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masaryk Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 It would already be blocked for being games. Thats the way it was when I was in high school. Not all games sites are blocked by my school board. If the site can be shown to have some amount of educational value, then it is allowed. They really only block the games sites with lots of violence and shooting games. Even then, the blockers can usually be bypassed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyssa Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 I was able to play Neopets in high school, so I guess not every high school blocks games ;p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viridian Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Neopets is not blocked on my school either, though I don't dare playing since we got a very nasty system... As soon as they find you doing something that is against the rules(playing games being one of them) you won't be able to access your account until you've paid a big sum of money, not really my piece of cake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyssa Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Neopets is not blocked on my school either, though I don't dare playing since we got a very nasty system... As soon as they find you doing something that is against the rules(playing games being one of them) you won't be able to access your account until you've paid a big sum of money, not really my piece of cake. Whaaat? That's INSANE. I usually played Neopets in English class. I didn't have to follow the classes, but I had to show up. So I just sat behind the PC, playing Neopets, while everyone else was making their homework :evil: Good times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonlady Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 I have to say that what I'm hearing makes me angry. I'm SO glad I made my daughter quit playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viridian Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 I have to say that what I'm hearing makes me angry. I'm SO glad I made my daughter quit playing. Hum... You could just have gotten an ad blocker too. It's stupid you make your daughter quit playing (no offence)... Neopets is one of the least horrible games out there o.o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyssa Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Besides, ads are not the same for every player. Get an ad blocker or something like that. Making your daughter quit seems quite harsh. Why did you make her quit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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