Ypulse Essentials: 'High School Musical' Tries Reality, Disney Grows Up, Teens Get Thrifty
Posted by casey on 07-21-2008
'High School Musical' reality show kicks off tonightkicked off this weekend (although there was no Miley to be found, the HSM brand and ex-boy band host surely drew in a fair share of tweens and teens [EW recap here], Plus, the "High School Musical 3" trailer was recently released) (New York Daily News) (TV Guide)
- Disney isn't just for kids (Disney has its thumb on the tween pulse despite so-called "waning" interest for Miley. Also, from "Hannah Montana" to "Drake & Josh," Disney's stars are growing up and finding success with older roles. Plus, Miley's controversial cover for Vanity Fair boosted magazine sales) (Baltimore Sun) (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) (Portfolio)
- Virgin covers up (its pro-social campaign benefiting homeless youth featuring user-generated stripping garnered enough criticism to pull back) (WSJ, subscription required)
- BTS trends are adorable, but affordable (for back-to-school, "thrifty chic" and Wal-Mart - yes, really - are what teens want. Plus, retailers are using television tie-ins and old-school movies to catch young shoppers. Wasn't this piece just done by the New York Times last week?) (LA Times) (USA Today)
- CW zooms in on teen girls (in hopes of boosting viewers, the network drops wrestling and focuses on young women… CW pres calls "Gossip Girl" one of the biggest "mysteries of the television universe." They're also launching their programming earlier this summer when there is "less competition.") (Forbes) (Hollywood Reporter)
- Gen Y's socially-conscious causes (outstanding involvement in Facebook groups like "Americans for Alternative Energy," "Legalize Same-Sex Marriage," and predictably, "Reduce the Drinking Age to 18!" Plus, teens are twice as likely to volunteer that 1998's teens) (Teens Today) (Lancaster Online)
- 'Sesame Street' plans on polishing up their web presence (their new .org, set to launch when their 39th season kicks off in August, will be "play-safe" for children) (New York Times, reg. required)
- High school years are still miserable (a great Q & A with the director of "American Teen" with an exclusive clip and sound clips from the soundtrack) (New York Times, reg. required)
- Coke refreshes the flow (the cola is teaming up with rapper Lupe Fiasco for a six-city, invite-only "Coca-Cola Refresh Your Flow Tour") (Media Post)
- PopTech blog (the uber cool TED-like conference launches a blog with cool posts like this one [hint: some nifty kids sites mentioned])
Also, in case you missed it, Newsweek published a fantastic article called Geek Girls: Revenge of the Nerdette the day after Ypulse's "Are Girls The New Geeks?" panel. Great timing!
