Needham company finds novel way to beam more ads at kids

You know, if there's one thing my daughter doesn't get enough of, it's advertising. Why, she must spend 30 minutes each day on a school bus with nothing to do but look out the window or talk to other students.

A job posting on Boston Craigslist led me to Bus Radio of Needham, which hopes to end this problem. Starting this fall, the company will beam "a national radio program" at students in school buses in participating school districts.

Now, the company is pitching this as a safety measure - kids listening to music apparently sit like zombies, unable to throw spitballs or menace the driver, at least, according to an educational video on the company site. The site doesn't actually mention anything about advertising, but since the company's giving away the required equipment, one must assume ads are involved (if not in the broadcast itself, then on the Web site students will be incessantly told to go to).

Bonus: An audio demo on the site starts with Steven Tyler - whom I'm sure will really resonate with today's fourth graders.