JediMom Blog

If you have a daugher, Miley Cyrus a.k.a. Hannah Montana needs no introduction. Miley has been on a rocket to stardom since her Hannah Montana show debuted on the Disney Channel in 2006. Miley is literally everywhere. A few online searches for “hannah montana” led me to branded merchandise including: clothing and accessories, bedroom items, video games, party supplies, dolls, school supplies, personal grooming items including a musical toothbrush, makeup, guitars, jewelry, locker decorations, books, CDs and DVDs.

In the past few months, Miley has appeared on the Academy Awards, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and Oprah to name a few.

Disney has obviously cracked some formula for marketing to pre-teens. But can too much Hannah cause a backlash? At what age does Hannah Montana frenzy turn to scorn?

Following a trip to the store, my 11-year-old daughter blurted out “Hannah Montana makes me want to kill.” My daughter is not prone to violence of any kind, but apparently she heard one Hannah Montana song too many. She preceded to tell me that Hannah Montana obsession ends at 4th grade. In 5th grade she continued, “we pretty much just mock her.” She said she expects the pop star to “blow up.”

So does the Disney marketing magic wear off at age 11?

I do not have a problem with Miley Cyrus as a role model for young girls. She appears to be maintaining a squeaky clean image. The question is, Can she maintain it? How does any adolescent stay grounded when the fan adoration, media attention and merchandising has reached these heights?

Is it brilliant marketing to an over-indulged and easy manipulated demographic or simply a strategy to make as much money before the star implodes?

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 24th, 2008 at 8:59 pm and is filed under Marketing to Girls. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.