An animated astronaut, apparently sent in from the Federal Trade Commission, is here to tell tweens what ads are really all about. In case you missed it (and it was remarkably easy to miss), the FTC recently launched an online game at Admongo.gov that tries to teach the young'uns about advertising and its techniques, ubiquity and aims, through an online platform game. According to the site, the FTC acknowledges that advertising is an important source of information when consumers need to make product choices, but that kids between 8 and 12 need to become more ad-"literate" in order to "becomes more discerning consumers of information."

As MediaPost covered in an article here yesterday, the FTC partnered with Fleischman-Hillard to create the game and supporting materials, and the CEO of the National Advertising Review Council praised the project for educating without "demonizing advertising."