Overheard in the Dairy Aisle

I was shopping for yogurt the other day when overheard two young boys, who I can only presume were brothers, in rapture over the latest product from Yoplait.

"Ooh, that's the yogurt with the bubbles that fizzes!"
"Yeah, Fizzix, it's the best!"

I learned later that Fizzix comes in a tube and is therefore a species of Yoplait's Go-Gurt line. It comes in crazy colors and flavors and is carbonated. I am 99% certain neither of them had tasted it before. I am 99% certain they saw a commercial on Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel. Oh, the power of TV ads. Or they could have seen it on the internet, since Yoplait created this game site around the product--diabolical! At least it's yogurt. They are clearly targeting this at kids and going for the whine factor (though this blog review says they were also going after undergraduate males on a tight food budget).

As I listened, I was thinking that when I had kids, they would either never get to watch TV or I would never bring them shopping with me. But then, their Starbucks-swilling dad, who was lingering nearby on his cell phone, got off his call.

"What part of 'You can have a Go-gurt smoothie' did you not understand?"

"But Dad..."

"Look, you can have a strawberry or a wild berry. Which do you want?"

"I don't know..."

"I'm going to choose for you then."

"Okay, Strawberry," says one brother. "Strawberry," say the other brother.

Wow, go Dad, I thought, way to handle your sons. I love it: decisive, taking control, giving them a choice. Done and done.

I was with him right until the point he said to his kids, "Aww, you made me spill my coffee. Get down on your knees and lick it up."

I promptly left the dairy aisle.