New Study Finds Dramatic Drop in Kid Love for Obama

NEW YORK, Nov. 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- If kids are any indication of the nation's sentiments toward the President, Democrats have reason to be worried at the polls on Tuesday.  Obama's Kidfinity™ ranking dropped on the list of Kids' Most Loved Brands by 65 positions in the past year, according to Young Love™, the nation's largest study of brands among kids aged 6-12.  The annual study, conducted by leading youth and family research firm, Smarty Pants, LLC, ranks more than 270 brands each year.  

In the 2010 Young Love study, President Obama's ranking fell to the 229th Most Loved brand from 164th on the list that measures brands based on their awareness, love and popularity.  The 2009 to 2010 drop is one of the most dramatic of the brands studied by Smarty Pants® (www.asksmartypants.com). The only brand with a greater loss among the 6-12 set is MySpace, which posted a drop from 184 to 264.

"In 2009, we decided to measure Obama as a brand.  We were fascinated that he outperformed kid favorites like Transformers, Kidz Bop and Claire's," noted Smarty Pants president, Wynne Tyree.  "We are equally intrigued by his descent in 2010," added Tyree.  "In the past year, Obama also posted the largest decline of all brands among moms of kids 6-12 years old – from 121 to 224 on the Moms' Most Loved Brands list.  The data clearly show that moms' feelings about the President are impacting how kids feel – and it doesn't look good."  

Brands that bring families together top this year's list of kids' most loved.  Nintendo's Wii holds on to the #1 spot, with McDonald's, M&M'S, Disney Channel and Oreo rounding out the top five.  Facebook (up 55 positions from 181 to 126) and Littlest Pet Shop (up 43 slots from 213 to 170) were among those posting the largest 2009-2010 gains in kid love.  

Young Love™ was conducted online among a representative sample of U.S. households with children ages 6-12.  More than 270 consumer brands across 20 categories were evaluated as part of the six-month study of 4,500+ children and their parents.

Smarty Pants

Smarty Pants, LLC is a market research consultancy with offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Johnson City, Tenn. The firm conducts youth and parent research and guides marketers on brand positioning, new products and consumer trends. Company clients include Electronic Arts, Hasbro, Crayola, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros., Aramark, American Eagle Outfitters, Cartoon Network, Hallmark, Reebok, Sesame Workshop and Girl Scouts of the USA.  For more information on Smarty Pants and the Young Love study, visit www.asksmartypants.com.

SOURCE Smarty Pants, LLC