14 days until the Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup East. We just added Anthony Batt, Founder & President, Buzznet, to our What Works in Online Video for Youth, and welcome our new sponsor Reach Messaging. Register today!

The WSJ asks (can HSM3 maintain its momentum? If its any indicator, I've had three Youth Advisory Board members ask to review it)

- LEGO sexist? (yikes - the company is accused of running sexist ads. And AdAge.com, reg. required, says watch "Yo Gabba Gabba!". Plus Sports Illustrated Kids tries a 3D issue) (MediaWeek)

- MTV pulls 'Model Makers' (yay MTV!) (Huffington Post)

- American Eagle (to launch a kids line)

- Above the Influence goes viral (with its anti-drug message and sites like this one)

- Wii steps into the ring (with its own Guitar Hero/Rockband type games. Plus a Dutch teen is beaten up over virtual goods) (Media Post, reg. required) (Alley Insider)

- Dazed & Confused (will focus an issue on UK teens) (PSFK)

- The seven laws of youth marketing (according to Graham Brown. Plus The Teen Lab reconfirms teens are indeed "green". And young adults may be replacing wanting to be "rich and famous" with just wanting "security")

- danah discovers another Facebook loophole (when viewing photos in friends' newsfeeds. Not good. Students resorting to "Facebook sabotage" to get into elite colleges. Also not good. And the fastest growing social network? Twitter. Would love to see a breakout of how many teens are actually Twittering) (ReadWriteWeb) (News.com)

- If you know a 'digital youth' (submit them for a chance to win them a Flip Video Camcorder) (Edutopia)

P.S. Check out the Guest DJ Project where cool people like our friend Dave Nadelberg from Mortified give us their soundtracks. Dave also told us a "Mortified" documentary is in the works.

The Buffalo News covered the excitement and controversy surrounding the opening of a local Torrid store — Torrid (a division of Hot Topic) sells trendy clothes for plus size teen girls. The girls are thrilled of course, but doctors not so much:

"'There should be stores for women of every size," said Dr. Denise M. Callari, who has treated many overweight teens through her practice at the Buffalo Medical Group. "But this store is saying you're sexy and that this is glamorous and you don't need to lose any weight. I'm seeing kids 16 or 18 developing hypertension.'"

The Torrid/Hot Topic folks say curvy girls need love too:

"'The way society has looked at girls in a size 12, 14 or 16 is that they should not be wearing mini-skirts or low-rise jeans. That's not true. They should be able to wear what everyone else is wearing. Just because she has some extra meat on her bones, doesn't make her a less desirable person.' - Christine Thompson, marketing director for Torrid, a division of Hot Topic"

I think all retailers should just include a broader range of sizes to accomodate all teen shoppers…

Related:

Torrid Website
American Eagle finds its stride, and runs with it (Retailer's back-to-school sales surging)(Associated Press)
Trendy retailers get dressed for work (stores popular with teens want to stay with them through their 20s)

CBS Marketwatch rounds up the latest earnings reports from retailers revealing which stores are scoring with teens this fall. Here are the numbers:

"American Eagle Outfitters' posted a stunning 23.9 percent jump in sales at stores open at least a year - an important industry indicator. It soared past estimates for analysts polled by Thomson First Call of a 13.9 percent increase.

Meanwhile, analysts were puzzled when Aeropostale missed by a wide margin. Sales rose only 6.2 percent vs. the 10.6 percent First Call forecast.

Hot Topic's sales slacked too, down 8.7 percent for the month, deeper than expectations. But Pacific Sunwear outpaced expectations with a 3.7 percent increase, higher than the 2.9 percent at First Call. Bebe knocked out a 9.2 percent increase in same-store sales compared to the 6.4 percent Wall Street was expecting."

Here's the shorthand:

Winners:
American Eagle (preppy, conservative trend)
Pacific Sunwear
Bebe

Losers:
Aeropostale
Hot Topic

Related:

The Death of Granny Chic
Wet Seal Calls in 'Stylizers'
Is Abercrombie in Trouble? Not According to its CEO
Teens Love Cheap Underwear

Fashion has come full circle again. As the nation gets more conservative, so has mainstream teen fashion. There's yet another story — this time today in the New York Times (registration required) — about how teens are moving in a more modest, preppy direction in their clothing. Ripped is out, buttoned up is in. American Eagle, Polo all doing well this fall. Be on the lookout for a new "punk" fashion sensibility to emerge from the underground just as it did during the Reagan Era.

The Times article also mentioned that teens (and their parents) are diversifying their back to school spending this year buying more electronics: cell phones, iPods, computer hardware. The Denver Post is also covering the new portability trend in back to school tech (thanks Juan!).

The Rocky Mountain News posted a story about the International Council of Shopping Centers 2004 Rocky Mountain Idea Exchange, where the industry folks invited seven teens ages 16-18 to get their feedback on, well, shopping at malls. Feedback from seven teenagers is really just a focus group so I take their responses with a grain of salt. What kind of feedback did the retailers get?

Teens prefer shopping with their parents because their parents buy them more stuff.

Send them coupons and stop the radio ads! They're driving kids' crazy playing over and over and over.

Four of the seven had their own credit cards.

Favorite stores? Gap, American Eagle Outfitters or Old Navy. Forget the big department stores (same things, higher prices).

Related:
Teens Love Cheap Underwear