New! Improved! It’s School!

The advertising programs aren't costly. LAUSD spent about $200,000 to come up with its campaign. In New York former NAACP president Bruce S. Gordon, who chairs the advisory board on the project, says he expects most of the phones, services and rewards to be donated by celebrities and corporations. But both the New York and the L.A. program require extensive effort and coordination at a time when many school administrators and teachers are already overburdened with No Child Left Behind accountability requirements. Could these programs distract school administrators and teachers from their core mission? Harvard economist Roland Fryer, who is working on the New York project, says he understands the resistance. "We could sit back on our hands and say, 'They should learn for the value of learning'," says Fryer. "But you know what? That's not working. And we're losing a lot of kids."

Will it work? Bob Liodice, president and CEO of the Association of National Advertisers, says yes. "Marketing and advertising are powerful forces that influence the behavior of adults and of kids. Think of public service advertising, which has done so much to raise awareness on issues like using seatbelts, drunk driving or the dangers of illegal drug use." Or think of the millions spent on advertising commercial products to young people; corporate America wouldn't be spending that money if it didn't work. The key, says Liodice, "is making sure the campaign delivers the pro-school message to kids frequently over a long period of time."

Other experts aren't so sure. They say the personal touch—the mentors and advisers—may work better than YouTube videos and text messaging. "When it comes to young people, marketing can only do so much," says Rick Boyko, former chief creative officer for advertising giant Ogilvy & Mather and now a Virginia Commonwealth University communications professor. "These are people who have been marketed to since they day they were born. They are very sophisticated consumers. They'll know that a prerecorded message is just that: prerecorded. That it is not sincere. And it will take them about three seconds to belittle it. Kids don't need commercials. They need dialogue. They need contact. They need good information from people they can trust."

Proponents of the plan agree that one-on-one support is ideal. But in a system that is failing so many kids, coming up with innovative ways to foster positive attitudes toward learning— in the classroom or on YouTube—is an experiment worth trying.

© 2007