For many people (both young & old) at the moment Saturday & Sunday night is X-Factor time. Undoubtedly the latest series has been phenomenally successful but what interests me is that the programme has huge appeal with young kids aged 7-11.

Whilst the show was not created with kids as its primary audience it has ‘unwittingly’ managed to tap into the core motivators of primary school children on so many levels. Of course music as a genre continues to hold a strong allure for ‘tweens’ as they gravitate away from cartoon characters and towards the aspirational youth culture. But X-Factor is so much more than just a music entertainment programme – it’s about living the dream and fundamentally mirrors the wannabe nature of tweens in their unbridled belief that they too can be rich and famous.

The interplay between the ‘good & evil’ judges coupled with the boos & hisses of the audience has a strong pantomime quality to it encouraging kids emotional (& sometimes physical) involvement. And then there’s the contestants; heart-throbs such as Lloyd and Joe captivates the girls whilst the comedic antics of John & Edward have kept the boys amused.

The voting system also meets desired tween empowerment providing that ever elusive sense of ‘control’ and the contest overall epitomizes the natural competitive spirit of boys in particular.

The final piece of the jigsaw is that X-Factor is naturally inclusive and allows kids to get involved as both a family viewing experience and as subsequent playground banter. This gives kids a true sense of belonging and a conversation currency that allows peer group acceptability.

Funnily enough Dreamworks acknowledged the appeal of the show when they created ‘Far Away Idol’ as an extra for the Shrek2 DVD in which the characters had a sing off and even Simon Cowell made an animated cameo appearance!

Like so many things that tweens ‘adopt’, X-Factor might not be regarded as a kids programme per se but it certainly fulfils all of their needs states. Perhaps it’s a salutary sense check to marketers of kid’s brands to reflect on whether their own brands have that ‘X-Factor’ quality.

I have just discovered the Clocky which at first sight seemed like one of those great little inventions that should have happened a long time ago – the alarm clock that runs away and hides to get you out of bed. It appears to be the perfect solution for those people (teenagers!?) who just keep on pressing and re-pressing the snooze button. Seemingly it’s based on the insight that people only really wake up when they are forced to get up and move!

“The patented alarm clock that runs away and hides to get you out of bed. Clocky gives you one chance to get up. But if you snooze, Clocky will jump off your nightstand and wheel around your room looking for a place to hide, beeping all the while. You’ll have to get out of bed to silence his alarm. Clocky is kind of like a misbehaving pet, only he will get up at the right time”

However having thought about it more I now wonder if the real insight, unfortunately for the makers of Clocky, is that the people who keep on pressing and re-pressing the snooze just don’t want to get up. If so they won’t buy a Clocky because it would be too efficient at actually getting them up and they really just want an excuse to stay in bed.

If however you are the parent of a very dozy teenager and think it might just work then take a look…

1. “There is superstition in avoiding superstitions.” (Francis Bacon)

2. “There are people who think that honesty is always the best policy. This is a superstition; there are times when the appearance of it is worth six of it.” (Mark Twain)

3. “Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition.” (Adam Smith)

4. “Never ignore a gut feeling, but never believe that it’s enough.” (Robert Heller)

5. “We are all tattooed in our cradles with the beliefs of our tribe.” (Oliver Wendell Holmes)

Borrowed with Pride from all over the place.