(The Game of) Life Takes Visa

I occasionally feel lucky to have grown up in the 80's, the days before the latest $300 video game system was the must-have item. I didn't need to beg my parents for the Next Big Thing (Cabbage Patch Kids excepted, of course).

We didn't have iPods, PlayStations, X-Box 360's, the Wii, and myriad handheld games and gadgets competing for our youthful attention. We had board games.

Lacking the attention span and real-estate sensibilities required for Monopoly, my game of choice was usually The Game of Life. It came with all the materialistic accoutrements of Monopoly (fake money, little car), but had a simpler premise and could be played in about a quarter of the time.

I noted with interest then, when I read that Visa (in what may be a nifty little tie-in with their ubiquitous "Life Takes Visa" campaign) was collaborating with Hasbro for a new version of the game using fake Visa cards instead of fake money.

Several bloggers have already cried foul, accusing Hasbro of attempting to manipulate children into learning to rely on credit cards at an early age, increasing their chances of winding up deep in debt later in life.  Bob at FlackLife thinks the idea is "ripe for a major backlash."

It will be interesting to follow blogosphere reaction to this case, particularly on marketing blogs. The ways in which big corporations market their products to children, either blatantly or surreptitiously, will always be a hot topic--particularly when the product in question is meant for adult use only (see also: Joe Camel).

For their part, Hasbro claims that use of credit cards in the game is an opportunity for parents to teach their children proper money management. But isn't it also an opportunity for Visa to teach children that they can get anything they want, so long as they use a shiny new Visa card (and all the ensuing interest charges) to get it?

As a person who fell victim to the manipulations of credit card companies on college campuses myself (I was a sucker for their free prizes in exchange for sign-up), I am wary of their apparent move here to target an even younger demographic. It most definitely smacks of Joe Camel to me; why else would Visa be interested in attaching their brand to a children’s game, if not in hopes of setting up future customers?

Visa needs to tread carefully here; I can only hope they are closely monitoring the reaction of the blogosphere and the MSM, and are prepared to answer to any and all crying "Joe Camel."

Technorati tags: personal finance, debt, Joe Camel, games