Over at Salon.com, Andrew Leonard has a sensible riff on advertising and its effect on kids. Really, it makes you stop and think about the effect of advertising on all of us. It doesn’t control us unless we let it. And sometimes it can be a wonderful, imaginative lift. But it’s just not marketing, not real life.

What really frustrates me is that I can’t influence the companies whose products I buy. I wish I had more influence at Fast Company magazine, for instance. I want marketing to become a two-way street. If they want to influence me, then I get to influence them.

Link: Salon.com Life | Embracing the dark side of the brand.

Isn’t this where I am supposed to wring my hands at the way kids today are hammered by the movie of the moment at every possible access point, from their cereal to their Cheez-It snacks to their juice box to every commercial on a 24-hour kids network? Shouldn’t I be alarmed at how crestfallen my son was when I failed to remember to tape "Revenge of the Brick" — the "Star Wars" Lego movie?

Advertisers spend some $12 billion a year marketing to children — and this is what happens! The kids start dreaming about the Lego representations of "Star Wars" characters! It’s a national outrage! Alert the media!

Oh poppycock. My daughter grew out of Barbie. My son will grow out of "Star Wars." The only difference is that I’ll be sad when Jedi Starfighters lose their ability to spark, because my son’s burgeoning sci-fi fixations give me a not-so-secret thrill. And there’s no getting around it: "Star Wars" Lego sets are way cool. (Not half as cool as what my son does with them after he’s finished following the instructions — which torpedoes the whole cramping-kids’-creativity argument — but still really neat all by their lonesome.)