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Taking a page from 2004 and 2007, Britain and Ireland are getting ready for the July launch of the Hello Kitty cell phone.

As the article mentions, there are parental groups expressing serious concern regarding these branded devices aimed at young children: According to Sue Palmer, author of Detoxing Childhood, which gives advice to parents on how to guide children while dealing with growing up problems, it was very irresponsible to bring a Hello Kitty phone, priced 599 dollars online, on to the market. A Hello Kitty phone would concern me considerably. The Hello Kitty website is aimed at 6 to 7-year-olds. The products are very pink and very attractive to young girls. What they are doing is looking for a new market and this is the thing I find so offensive. They need a new market and they are exploiting children, Times Online quoted her, as saying.

Cell phones that are themed and marketed towards young children is not a particularly new concept. Over the last 5 years we’ve seen all kinds of devices featuring icons and brands that most appeal to pre-teens. (Think Disney) Business is business and manufacturers are in the business to sell.

In all reality, Hello Kitty has technically been around since the mid-70’s. And in the 80’s parents everywhere lamented when their young daughters begged to have their own Hello Kitty landline phone in their bedrooms:

 At the end of the day, whether it’s 1988 or 2008 the same underlying fact remains when it comes to marketers targeting young children: parents have the right to say “no.” Should they decide to say “yes,” then they have the option to set guidelines and monitor what their children do. Youth marketing is always going to be an issue, but parents are always the ultimate gatekeepers.