NickJr.com (www.nickjr.com)
© 2008 Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group
Fun but cluttered, this is a hub designed for both parents and preschoolers. It is a mish-mosh of ads, craft ideas, a TV schedule, activities and short promotional video clips that automatically stream in a postage-sized video player. There are also links to a variety of NickJr. branded sites that include Noggin.com, MyNoggin.com, the NickArcade and others. The good news is with the quality of the games. As of September, 2009, we counted 113 Flash-based options, which start quickly and get children busy with the show content. The bad news is that the overall effect is a confusing mashup of inter-linking brands and services -- some for sale and others free-- that feature characters best known from the TV screen, like Dora, Ni Hao Kai-lan, the Backyardigans, Yo Gabba Gabba, Blue's Clues, Max and Ruby and so on. External (non-Viacom) advertisers on NickJr.com promote mouthwash, vacations, drugs, toys, phones, cars and fast food in varying-sized banner or display ads. One of these banners, for McDonald's restaurants, expands in size when it is is moused-over, an effect that was particularly mystifying to our young testers with limited mouse control abilities. If the cursor passes over any part of the banner, even accidentally, it blows up in size, covering parts of the screen. When the mouse is moved away from the banner, the ad shrinks back to normal size; a control mechanism that requires some learning. Because ads open new browser windows, the browser’s back button won't work. For example, a child looking for a game may end up "trapped" at www.listerinekids.com, where they may end up zapping food and germs in an Flash-based arcade game called "mission magnetizer" designed to highlight the importance of mouthwash. Most of our testers visited NickJr. thinking they were going to find free games based on the show. In fact, most of these games are located in www.MyNoggin.com or the Nick Arcade, both prominent links on NickJr.com. The Nick Arcade is a subscription-based service that is advertised in a billboard that alternates between free and subscription-based services. For example, one message states that children can "Play Bingo with Dora at the NickJr. Arcade." There is no mention that to actually play bingo with Dora, a parent will have to either download a free timed trial, which includes an installation that can alter the browsers settings, or purchase an Arcade Pass for $20. The lure to NickJr. is the quality of the games that feature popular and familiar characters. Many of the Flash-based programming is state-of-the-art, and it effectively extends characters and concepts from the television programming. This may explain why our very young testers came back so frequently, despite the clutter of the advertising.
Internet Site
Teaches: a hub of NickJr. related content
CTR Rating: 94%