Marketing and all things related

We have commented several times on advertising and childhood obesity. We take the simple position that parents, not marketers, are responsible for what children eat. But the debate does not end with our simple pronouncement. We discovered a dandy item in the Los Angeles Times (free registration required) about junk food in children’s books. Here’s an excerpt from The Oreo Cookie Counting Book: "Ten little Oreos, all in a line. Dunk one in a glass, and now there are nine.” A dust jacket review includes the statement "Children will love to count down as 10 little Oreos are dunked, nibbled and stacked one by one until there are none!" The author of the article is outraged. Sorry folks, Marketing Blurb cannot get excited about this. This is what you get when you purchase a book by the name The Oreo Counting Book. I am not aware that school systems or churches are forcing children to sit on the floor and recite verses from this book. Can we move on now?