Definately! It's called "marketing!"

Absolutely. It is the same with cereal - the biggest draw when I was young was not the brand or taste, but which had the coolest prize. A picky kid can have a lot of influence over an adults choice of restaurant, so it is smart to market products with them in mind.

Manipulation is part of our culture. It's the reason why companies spend so much money on figuring out the most effective ways to get people to act a certain way. They don't care about the negative effects of having a good advertising campaign, just that their desired results are reached. . The adjustable rate mortgages that were (not sure if they still are) being foreclosed upon, were targeted to poorer folks. Obviously, poorer folks are not as educated as rich, making it easier for them to be drawn into the desire to live in a house instead of within their means which may be a trailer as an example. Everyday, in almost every medium possible, we're hit by things designed to trigger a certain response in us. In fact, the best way to avoid successful advertising campaigns is to be emotionally detached. As inhuman as that may sound, it may be necessary if we are to be able to educate people to not buy into hype and make a reasonable decision on their own accord. . Basically, yes. Toys are there to get children to bother their parents enough. Why? Because annoying children begging parents for something is one of the most successful advertising strategies available. Hence the reason why kids movies are almost always more profitable than those targetted to adults. +3