My son has fallen victim to a marketing blitz; been seduced by a clever ad campaign. He's fallen hook, line and sinker to the promise of improved living via these products. But it's not the latest video game or the newest hot toy that has grabbed his attention.

It's yogurt.

And we aren't talking about kid-themed yogurt, even. We're talking digestive-tract-regulating yogurt. Activia, to be exact. A while back they came out with their first commercial which featured two women and a parrot. The parrot was a minor player and, obviously, considering the product, was not meant as a gimmick to draw in young children, but it had that effect on him, anyway. I'm pretty sure the bird, and the jingle, are what grabbed his attention. He asked for Activia the next time we were at the grocery store and has been happily eating it ever since. He's thrilled whenever one of us brings some home for him.

Also sucking him in with its ads is another yogurt product, DanActive smoothies. Different from Activia, these claim to contain an ingredient that boosts the immune system. I am not sure what exactly appealed to JZ about this ad; there's no jingle and no animals featured in the commercial. It's just people talking about "L casei immunitas" -- certainly nothing that's meant to play to a three-year-old. The closest I can figure is he associates it with Activia somehow. He has referred to them as "Activia smoothies."

All things considered, I can't really complain. Of all the marketing for him to buy into I am glad it's a food item and not some unnecessary or inappropriate toy. Even better, it's not some junk food or fast food -- it's healthy. There are a lot worse things with which he could become obsessed.

Now if I could just get him hooked on the Dyson commercials so I could buy one as a gift for him and teach him to vacuum the house.....