Wal-Mart Helps Kids Spam Parents With Gift Wishes

from the still-figuring-out-this-online-stuff dept

Mon, Nov 6th 2006 11:21am — Mike Masnick

Wal-Mart has run into some online marketing troubles lately, with their fake MySpace ripoff and then the questions about how open they were with a supposedly independent blog. It looks like they continue to keep making bad choices, however. The latest is that parents are pissed off to find Wal-Mart spam pressuring them to buy certain gifts for their kids this holiday season. It appears that Wal-Mart has created a website for kids (with two elves named "Wally" and "Marty") that shows them various toys and products, and asks the kids whether or not they like the toys. If the kid answers yes, the elves promise to "plead your case" to the kids' parents, and do that in the form of emails telling them what Wal-Mart says the kids want -- even though they weren't able to make their own wishlist, but just go through a series of products clicking the equivalent of "yes" or "no" to what they might want.

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25 Comments

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scuzzbuket, 6 Nov 2006 @ 12:30pm

Wal-mart sucks!!!
Typical Wal-mart.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Nov 2006 @ 12:32pm

....
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Von Aras, 6 Nov 2006 @ 12:39pm

It is not spam if the email originates from the child and only goes to the parent.

By your analogy, an online greeting card sent from one person to another would also be spam.

Walmart is great for America - and the author of this article is an idiot!!!
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tommo, 6 Nov 2006 @ 12:44pm

wal mart
Wal Mart is great for America, tell that to the thousands of Americans who lost their jobs to the Chinese, so that Wal Mart can make a profit.

Typical of Wal Mart to make a buck on anything, including pressuring the parents
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scuzzbuket, 6 Nov 2006 @ 12:45pm

Re:
The problem is the email does not come from the child themselves, it comes from Greedy Old Wal-mart

If anything they should keep a running list and ask the child at the end of the list to either send it or not.

It, to me, is a pathetic way to "guilt" parents into buying everything their kids want
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Beefcake, 6 Nov 2006 @ 1:05pm

No
Don't get me wrong, not a big Wal Mart fan; but everyone knows children are easy marketing targets. Rather than blame Wal-Mart, try being the adult and just say "no".
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sean, 6 Nov 2006 @ 1:12pm

Most likely the items shown are the ones with the biggest profit margins

I will not shop at Wal-Mart, I will gladly pay 20-30% more and get what I need from a locally owned shop. Most of the time the price difference it not that big.
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Jeremie, 6 Nov 2006 @ 1:22pm

Walmart
I don't buy at walmart.

This is just one more reason why.

Buy at your local shops people.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Nov 2006 @ 1:29pm

it's funny how people say walmart is the devil and all this, but say they love democracy and capitalism. our thinking makes walmart work the way it does. competition drives down prices. so, in order to make a profit, the cost of production must be lowered, either substandard parts, cheaper freight, packaging, or labor. since there are labor laws preventing people working for pennies an hour, walmart will pay the 2 dollar tax, mark it up enough to undercut the competition, and bam...they still make a huge profit. ifyou have a problem with that, change our capitilistic ways....demand HUGE foreign good import taxes. i'm sure that'll go over well...
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Nov 2006 @ 1:32pm

Buy Local
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Mike, 6 Nov 2006 @ 1:37pm

How does Walmart get personal info, including email addresses from underage kids without first getting parental consent? If they don't, isn't that a violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998? Or if they do, what's the point of the program?
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Johnny, 6 Nov 2006 @ 1:43pm

Wal-Mart is Teh Suck
I'm surprised that they thought this was a good idea. But then Wal-Mart and poorly thought out marketing schemes are becoming legendary.

They so very desperately want to be cool and hip when they are anything but.

I will never shop at Wal-Mart. They have a long, long track record of exploiting workers, localities, customers and supply chains.
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James, 6 Nov 2006 @ 1:51pm

Wal-Mart Helps Kids Spam Parents
People piss me off! This whish list was a good idea, and It looks like Wal-Mart has removed it.
Thanks all you Commies
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Wally&Marty, 6 Nov 2006 @ 2:01pm

WOOHOO
Wal-Mart is SATAN!!! Kill Wal-mart with a Drill!!!!
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by local, 6 Nov 2006 @ 2:27pm

buy local
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wolf rune, 6 Nov 2006 @ 3:24pm

my child
i have already talked to my child, he is NOT allowed to enter my email in anything on-line if he sends me somthing on line by doing so he is grounded from his pc.
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Observer, 6 Nov 2006 @ 3:27pm

Re:
Anon, you're absolutely right. People love the idea of capitalism, and Wal Mart is just a perfect example of how capitalism is supposed to operate.

Small Mom and Pops are great. But Wal Mart is just a bigger fish swallowing up the smaller competition in a free market society. That's how this country is built.

I hate Wal Mart. I think they're business practices are appalling. But they are simply doing what every capitalistic entrepreneur wishes they could. We must decide who the real devil is this situation is.
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foofdawg, 6 Nov 2006 @ 4:01pm

my 2cents
Yet again, Wal-Mart chooses to take the corporate path and ends up probably losing revenue because of it.

I agree that asking children to provide their parents email address without their consent is wrong, although I don't have any details on if they violated these rules. If they did, they should be reprimanded and/or punished as appropriate.

But, I do feel that the marketing team or development team that came up with this idea probably had the best intentions in mind. I can easily see them thinking that allowing a child to make a wish list of presents would in theory help both the child and the parent to have a better holiday (SHOPPING) experience.

Then again, some of the worst things have been done with the best of intentions, and I think they overlooked the fact that people hate getting unrequested emails, don't want their child freely giving out their email address, and probably don't want a retailer too involved in what they teach their children about what the holidays are about. (and lets not forget about the selection of toys they choose, sure to tick off the majority of parents in one way or another)
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Todd, 6 Nov 2006 @ 4:01pm

Why would any kid want a cheap-ass toy from Wal-Mart anyway? Even when I was 10 years old I knew better.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Nov 2006 @ 5:24pm

You people that say buy local crack me up. None of you must have grown up or live in a small town where Wal-Mart is it and I do mean it. No Targets or K-marts no shopping malls. Where what small local business there are so over priced it isn’t funny. Where the avg. wage is $7.00 an hour. Wal-Mart is it man, there is nothing else no matter if you like them or not. Sorry I got off subject but the whole Wal-Mart is evil by local kinda got to me.
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WAL MART IS THE THRID WORLD EVIL, 6 Nov 2006 @ 6:07pm

Re:
WHO THE FRACK CARES IF ITS BECAUSE THE KIDS CLICKED A LINK ITS STILL SPAM AND POSSIBLY A COPPA VIOLATION IN THE MAKING AS WALMART IS COLLECTING IDENTIFYING INFORMATION.

Wal-Mart is nothing like what Sam Walton started it for. Bet he's turning over in his grave watching Wal-Mart use sweat shops in China to make a buck in the USA.

That 60 Min special just wasn't enough to get regulators attentions. Wal-Mart and there monopolistic tactics need busted up just like the bells.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Nov 2006 @ 11:47pm

Sure glad they hired Edelman - masters of online social media that they are! Rightwing Walmart bloggers posting unatributed PR text, School My Way, fake RV bloggers, dumb assed Yahoo! Walmart avatar fashion show and now this. Hahahahaha
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Nov 2006 @ 5:18am

in my town, price counts. people living next to poverty...walmart is the godsend. why buy local and spend 8 bucks for food items for dinner, when you can get the same for less than 5? why spend 30 bucks for a pair of work jeans when you can get them at the wall for 15?

our local wallyworld was the top sell/best store a few years back. we have mom and pops...why? cheaper = better.

more money saved...=more money to spend elsewhere (i.e. nascar, beer, cigarettes)

not the brightest of the buhc..but ya know? and did you know many rich people will buy at discount stored? why? because they were froogle before they were rich, and aren't used to spending money on everything.

but i digress.

if the kid signs up for it, it's nto spam. it's the "weekly newsletter" if walmart then takes the info, sells it or begins sending unsolicited email w/o ways of ending it, that's a problem.
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ebrke, 7 Nov 2006 @ 7:59am

Re:
Well, I don't have to change my ways, because I never set foot in a Wal-Mart store and I never will. You have to draw the line somewhere, and as far as I am concerned, Wal-Mart epitomizes just about everything that is wrong with our society.
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richard, 27 Nov 2008 @ 9:51pm

Wal-mart is an evil empire. I boycot wal-mart because I am a proud union worker. Wal-mart threatens their employees with firings if they attempt to organize a labor union, plus they demean their employees while giving them little to no benefits! This is how they achieve their precious low prices!
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