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Interviews British parents and children for their views about merchandised products like toys and clothes, including the effects of peer and media pressure, and how children’s ages correlate with the desire for merchandised or branded goods. Includes eight detailed messages from 11 women and girls, accompanied by their photographs and age details; one mother tellingly says that she empties non‐merchandised bio yoghurt into a Thomas the Tank Engine pot in order to induce her daughter to eat it. Observes that some parents admit that their own inclination for merchandised goods contribute to their child’s longing for licensed toys. Concludes, however, that these candid responses express resentment at having to pay extra for merchandised products, while another adverse effect of licensed goods is the perceived brand dependency that many youngsters are developing; by being so desirable, these goods can engender disappointment, bullying and even crime.

The purpose of this paper is to increase awareness of the benefits of using video in research, especially for studies involving young children.

The paper points out the benefits of the use of video‐based research.

The paper suggests that video‐based research can work alongside traditional research techniques – by adding a camera researchers can record and document non ‐verbal responses, allowing much more data to be captured and analysed, from facial expression to a plethora of emotions. The implications of using video in research are beneficial to both the researchers and respondents alike. Video has a very high response rate – respondents reply to an innovative approach and seize the opportunity to climb on to the closest thing they have to a real life soapbox. Young consumers, who can find it difficult to articulate their thoughts in other forms of research, can be observed and understood much more easily through video. Video research also has the possibility to transform not only the way research is conducted, but also the image of the MR industry. By updating research techniques to include video one can change the perceptions consumers have of the practice and increase the speed at which research is delivered and the amount of people with whom it is shared.

It is more memorable and safer to have visual evidence of consumers rather than relying on mental pictures; as face‐to‐face contact research dwindles with the rise of e‐research this paper will be of value to anyone looking to find ways to tackle the problem of the faceless consumer.