Frontline is airing a report on PBS about the business of marketing to American teens called "The Merchants of Cool." If you missed it last week (like I did) you can catch it tomorrow, Feb. 27th. They have transcripts and RealPlayer footage up online, and you can also listen to a Fresh Air interview with the reporter, Douglas Rushkoff. Interestingly, Rushkoff expresses dismay about his findings that what is "cool" to the marjority of today's teens is to be used by a company for viral marketing and product placement, not to rebel against what corporations are pushing at them. He also discusses a marketing feedback loop wherein MTV goes to a teenager's home to find out what he thinks is cool, while the teenager is surrounding himself with stuff he sees on MTV. Douglas Rushkoff's work is worth keeping an eye on.