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On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission launched a new advertising literacy campaign for children from ages eight to 12 called Admongo. The program is designed to teach kids the skills they need to understand how advertising works.

"Many kids are now plugged into some kind of media for more than seven hours a day, which means their exposure to advertising is at record levels," says David Vladeck of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection. "That is why the FTC is launching Admongo, to raise advertising literacy among the nation's tweens, by equipping them with critical thinking skills they can use to recognize and understand advertising messages."

The campaign centers around a game-based website called Admongo.gov. The site is free for anyone to access and has been used in classrooms across the country.

"When my students started playing the video game, they focused on the problems carefully, so that they could make predictions on what to do to make the right decisions," says teacher Oscar Ramirez.

"By playing Admongo, kids will learn to recognize ads and to ask three questions when they see the ad. Who is responsible for the ad? What is the ad actually saying? And what does the ad want me to do?" says Vladeck. "These questions will help develop the critical thinking skills kids need to understand advertising."

They are important, since children and teenagers are a huge economic force and make all kinds of purchasing decisions, including what to eat, what movies to watch and what toys and clothes to buy.

To check out Admongo, visit www.admongo.gov.