The debate over advertising in schools has been reignited with a report prepared by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) asking trustees to consider installing digital screens in as many as 70 of the city’s secondary schools. The report is set to be reviewed at a school board trustee meeting tonight.
Last January, the TDSB introduced digital screens in the halls of four high schools as part of a pilot project between the board and Onestop Media Group. The Board said at the time it would be very selective about what marketers made it to the screens: ads for milk would be OK, while those for McDonald’s likely would not make it.
Today, the Toronto Star published an editorial calling for the TDSB to “Keep ads out of high schools” and at least one TDSB trustee is vocally opposed to the idea. Michael Coteau said the school board doesn’t have a right to decide what brands kids as young as 13 are exposed to.
“I would say it’s an extension into the lives of people we shouldn’t necessarily be dabbling in,” Coteau said. “Fourteen-year-olds are impressionable and the educational system is there to educate and not suggest one brand over other brands.”
There will be some branded messaging on the screens and that is always a touchy subject when it comes to schools, said OneStop president and CEO Michael Girgis. But parents have been supportive of the program since the screens will be used by students and woven into school curricula to teach digital publishing and media literacy, he said.
“Students will run the network as an integrated school program similar to past school TV and radio stations,” he said. “The essence of student engagement and curriculum-based elements of this are being lost in the politics of advertising.”
The board, which stands to make a 5%-15% share of the ads’ revenues (the Star reports it could amount to $100,000 a year), recommends no more than 30% of the network’s content be sponsor-related.
During the trial period, the screens showed content such as photographs from events, student work, exam information and school council updates.
The report also said parents support the program as the screens provided “increased use of ‘modern’ technology in schools and supported increased opportunities for student engagement and the celebration of student work.
“They want to see an expansion of media sources to reflect interests of the community (e.g., Jazz FM), the potential use of sound before/after school, and concrete learning goals for use of the network,” the report said.
Onestop Media Group would assume costs associated with the roll-out.
