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September 4th, 2011 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda 
Source: The Australian
PRIMARY school students have been offered prizes for singing the Coles “prices are down” jingle in presentations at schools by store managers promoting the retailer’s multi-million-dollar sports equipment program.
During the stunt, students at a school on Sydney’s northern beaches were led into a hall decked out in Coles livery and schooled on the benefits of the marketing program, which has delivered a significant rise in sales for the supermarket chain.
Child welfare advocates have accused the supermarket of “brainwashing” students with the marketing strategy, which has resulted in more than 7500 schools around the country signing up for the chance to get free sports equipment.
The promotion has led to thousands of schools displaying giant Coles banners, while students have also been urged to create Coles posters.
Parents have also reported that students are being asked in class to hold up how many vouchers they have collected, putting pressure on kids to urge their parents to spend more at Coles stores.
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The promotion is part of a schoolyard rumble between Coles — which is owned by the Wesfarmers conglomerate — and Woolworths for the hearts and minds of communities.
Last year, Coles delivered more than $7 million worth of equipment to schools taking part in the program, where shoppers collected vouchers for every $10 spent. Under the program, shoppers must spend $700 for a school to claim a $3 skipping rope, or $110,500 to claim a $1710 Wilson tennis kit.
Woolworths has also entered the fray with its “Earn Learn” promotion, which aims to help schools buy educational resources.
But experts are now questioning the lengths Coles has gone to to get schools to help drive shoppers to its supermarkets, including giving giant Coles banners to display outside schools, urging students to draw posters promoting the voucher drive and even telling schools to invite managers to come in and talk to students.
Children standing on a school stage singing the jingle for one of Australia’s biggest supermarkets sparked uproar after it was revealed Coles has been sending its managers into schools to push its brand. The supermarket has also developed an intricate kit which helps schools gain coverage in local newspapers.
Rita Princi, a child and adolescent psychologist based in Adelaide, said stunts such as getting children to sing jingles for prizes could have an effect on how children discern between advertising and real school messages.
“What they are doing is almost a form of manipulation and is a brain washing exercise,” Ms Princi said. “It can also cause conflict with parents and is a sign that consumerism has gotten out of hand.”
She said allowing the supermarket to entice children to sing the jingle was a dangerous move by school officials and could have long lasting effects.
A spokesman for the NSW Department of Education and Communities said the decision to let marketers into schools was left to principals to decide on a case-by-case basis. “The department . . . is aware that two supermarket chains are conducting promotional activities that provide benefits to schools in return for the collection of vouchers,” he said.
Coles spokesman Jon Church said the supermarket was not aiming to change consumer behaviour but admitted that last year Coles had seen a massive uplift in sales as schools urged parents and members of the local community to shop at its supermarkets.
He said the decision to go into school was a local one taken by managers and could not say how many “Coles assemblies” had been held.
“We are not asking customers to do anything different,” he said. “It is entirely voluntary.”
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