Minus the cheerleading, 14-year-old Alex Reo's day is similar.

Another thing the two have in common: They are barraged by hundreds of advertisements during that time.

The Times Union asked Alex, a Troy High School freshman, and Danielle, a 12-year-old seventh-grader at Goff Middle School in East Greenbush -- both part of a demographic highly sought after by advertisers -- to track all the forms of marketing they noticed over a 24-hour period. They both recorded about 30 examples (a number sure to disappoint the Madison Avenue creative teams that spend their days trying to figure out how to get inside kids' heads).

"I didn't think I would see that many ads in a day," Danielle says. "I think a lot of times you see ads and don't even realize they are ads."

According to research done by Teen People magazine, it's likely Alex and Daneille saw closer to 1,000.

"From TV to magazines to radio to the Internet to text-messaging, these guys cannot turn on a device without someone marketing them," says Morris Reid, managing director with Blue Fusion, a New York City youth-marketing consultant.

They're a big catch. The 30 million U.S. tweens spend $19.1 billion a year, according to a 2003 Harris Interactive poll.

"This group has so much disposable income," says Kathleen Crowley-Long, a psychology professor at The College of Saint Rose in Albany who has researched how advertising affects teens and tweens. "Parents give them allowances or kids pressure their parents into buying what they want." Fulfilling all your kids' requests does not help them learn the value of a dollar, says Crowley-Long. It also does not help them appreciate what they do have.

Teen People's research included anything from traditional forms -- such as magazines, television and radio -- to shopping bags, logos on clothing, product placement and peer-to-peer marketing.

Keeping track

Advertising can be sneaky, says Juliet B. Schor, author of "Born to Buy." It may be as subtle as a Coke machine in the foyer at school or a plastic Gap bag a classmate uses to carry gym clothes. Or it might be Internet pop-ups. Many times kids don't realize they are in a world of ad overload.

In her book, Schor looked at children's marketing and found that advertising agencies are using insidious new ways -- such as placing ads in schools, however discrete, and on Happy Meals and Lunchables -- of reaching kids.

Kids become so involved in consumer culture that it can affect their well being, says Schor. They may suffer from depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and complain of headaches and stomachaches due to high levels of exposure to advertising and consumer culture, she says.

"A lot of research says when you feel dissatisfied, and compare yourself constantly to other people, it undermines well being," says Schor. The constant pressure to get the things they see in ads brings on the dissatisfaction, she says.

"Children more exposed to advertising and marketing are more wrapped up in our consumer culture, so they get more materialistic."

What's new

The Billy Fuccillo "Huge" car commercials, or an ad for Depends aside, our diary keepers find most advertisements to be sassy and entertaining and not at all bothersome.

And a way to see what's new out there. From a Stewart's banner hanging out by the football field at school showing off a new ice cream flavor, to a classmate wearing a Harley Davidson sweat shirt, to a radio blurb about dirt bike racing at the Pepsi Arena, Alex came across many intriguing ads.

"Most often I watch Sports Center and MTV," Alex says. "It doesn't really matter who's on the commercial, if I see something on there I like, then I will want it."

Pop-ups and spam don't bother Danielle or Alex, either, since they both have filters and blockers on their computers.

One big commercial

Sometimes the ads are right in the middle of their favorite entertainment.

"MTV is, for the most part, a commercial all day long," says Crowley-Long.

Between the placement of products like cellphones and clothes -- which the kids definitely noticed -- to actors and actresses on the various shows, you cannot turn on MTV without seeing the newest, latest, must-have item.

That's where Danielle gets a few ideas of what she may want.

"Sometimes when you see something on a TV show, and someone is actually using it, that's better than a real commercial," Danielle says. This most often happens with clothes or electronics.

"Cribs," which profiles celebs and their homes, always shows flashy cars and electronics. On "Newlyweds," Jessica Simpson talks about her Juicy sweat suit or her American Express credit card, and stars will drink a certain beverage, carry the latest tech gadget or ride a state-of-the-art motorcycle in many of the music videos.

Like many kids, our two say MTV is their go-to station. Danielle loves "Newlyweds" (she first noticed the multicolored LV initials on the white Louis Vuitton bag in an episode) and the videos. Also, anything and everything Britney Spears.

"It's even more important to set limits," says Danielle's mom, Chris Mancinelli. "You can't just give your kids everything. If you want that special pair of designer jeans from Abercrombie, you get one or two pair and not one in every color."

Celebrity-based

In fact, says Mancinelli, Danielle probably wouldn't have wanted Elizabeth Arden's "Curious" perfume if Spears' name hadn't been associated with it.

"She saw the ads in the magazine, and on TV, and it was one of the first things on her Christmas list," Mancinelli says.

This celebrity-based advertising really gets to this generation, says Crowley-Long, because kids love modeling themselves after their idols. And more than ever before, those stars are paid to market food, clothing, products and services.

Danielle's interest in Guess increased recently thanks to the company's new model -- Paris Hilton. In general, though, Danielle says she knows what she likes and what she doesn't no matter how great the ad or who is associated with it.

"Teens are completely savvy enough to appreciate good, smart, credible advertising," says Jack Rotherham, publisher of Teen People. "They like advertising. Teens pull out ads and hang them on their walls."

Liquor ads

Or, in the case of something like Absolut Vodka ads, they trade them like baseball or Pokeman cards, trying to have all the current clippings to hang on their bedroom walls or post in their lockers.

It's not just the trading that bothers Mancinelli. It's the sheer number of ads for alcohol that her daughter comes in contact with every day.

"I didn't even notice how many alcohol ads there are, till she was doing this exercise," Mancinelli says. "Just on a short drive, we saw at least a half dozen. It's a little disturbing."

Schor says the strongest, most-effective advertising on this generation is peer-to-peer marketing, where companies pay tweens and teens for a range of marketing endeavors, from throwing parties where youths promote a brand's products, to attempting to influence their contemporaries by agreeing to wear a particular piece of apparel to school or talk about it to their friends.

Alex and Danielle have never come into contact with peer-to-peer. Well, not that they know of. But, says Reid, some of the best young marketers are those who are so subtle you wouldn't even know that what they are saying isn't their own opinion.

These kids would rather hear about a great new brand or product from a friend or someone in their age group than a middle-aged executive, says Reid.

"Kids want to deal with kids. Peer pressure is at an all-time high and people conform to groups, so this method of marketing is very successful," Reid says. "Plus, peer-to-peer marketing is very viral with the Internet."

Usually there is no cash reward, but kids can earn T-shirts, CDs and branded products.

Brand loyalty

Sometimes, though, students show off brand loyalty without any compensation. It's just what they wear, and what they say.

"All my friends have the Tiffany bracelet," says Danielle, of the sterling silver heart toggle bracelet. "You want what other kids are wearing."

That said, Abercrombie jeans, and anything from Hollister, are popular with Danielle and her friends. Target clothing is a no-go. Like generations that have come before them, if the right kid thinks it's not cool, then most everyone else follows.

This form of marketing is a company's dream come true, says Crowley-Long. They do nothing, yet get free advertising in the most successful form -- from the cool kids promoting the product. At Alex's school, it's the same way. He and his friends talk about Playstation 2 and anything Polo -- the hot items for them.

"I'd never be interested in Bugle Boy or Paco," Alex says. "It just doesn't fit my style."

Kristi Gustafson can be reached at 454-5494 or by e-mail at kgustafson@timesunion.com.

Teach kids to be savvy about ads

Parents can give kids a lesson in the techniques of advertising, says Juliet B. Schor, author of "Born to Buy." Tape an ad for a product you know won't measure up to the ad's claims, then buy the product and show what's different.

* Parents can tell young children (3-5 years old) that advertisers often "lie" -- showing products as bigger or as easier/more fun to use than they really are, says Kathleen Crowley-Long, a professor of psychology at The College of Saint Rose. Crowley-Long has done extensive research on how advertising affects teens and tweens.

* 5- to 7-year-olds: Encourage them to compare what they see on TV to the actual products they find in stores or that they purchase. Ask kids to say if they think what they saw on the TV was really true.

* 7- to 11-year-olds: Encourage them to think critically as they view ads. Crowley-Long suggests asking things like, " 'Do you think what they are saying is true?' I often say to my kids 'Look at that silly ad -- do you really think that product (e.g., herbal essence shampoo) makes showering that much fun?' " Or, she suggests, communicate healthy skepticism about an ad with comments such as, "Nine out of 10 doctors -- I wonder how much they paid those doctors?"

AD DIARIES

Here are excerpts from the advertising diaries of Alex Reo and Danielle Mancinelli

DANIELLE:

7:06 a.m. MTV. Nokia video phone is so cool. I wish I could try it.

7:15 a.m. MTV. Lindsay Lohen video. She has a cool silk cami on. I love it. She's also using a camera phone

10:21 a.m. Etnies shoes/sweat shirt in the hallway between classes. I don't really like skater stuff, so I didn't like it.

11 a.m. Abercrombie sweat shirt white/pink. Math class. It was OK. I would wear it, but in a smaller size. She was wearing it really big.

12:50 Aquafina machine in lunchroom. I drink Aquafina.

3:42 p.m. Teen Vogue, Skechers sneakers, pink, very cool

3:45 p.m. Ice Breakers Liquid Ice (a gum/candy combination). We tried it because of Jessica Simpson.

3:48 p.m. A friend's iPod. I want one so bad.

7:41 p.m. KFC popcorn chicken. Yuumm, good.

9:05 p.m. Sprint cellphone. I wish I had a Sprint instead of Cingular. It was a flip phone and I don't get as good service as the other companies. My friends have other service and their phones work better.

ALEX:

10:20 a.m. Black Harley-Davidson. I like Harley-Davidson. My father has motorcycles.

10:30 a.m. Stewart's. Wouldn't make me want to go to Stewart's. I go there to get gas.

11:30 a.m. Posters around school for a Halloween dance. Not going. Have a party instead.

12:30 p.m. Hollister long-sleeved collared shirt with matching Timberland boots -- nice.

1:02 p.m. Enyce sweat shirt on a kid in the hall. Really cool

2:50 p.m. On Channel 107.7 an ad about the Pepsi Arena hosting dirt bike racing. Definitely going. 5, 6, 7, November.

5 p.m. TV commercial about Price Chopper produce. My mom buys her groceries there.

7:17 p.m. George Bush commercial. I like Bush. If I could vote, I'd vote for him.

8:30 p.m. Pontiac commercial. Nice car.

NO ESCAPING

Did you know? Some of the unusual places you can find advertising:

coffee cups

bathroom stalls

deli bags

supermarket floors (decals)

trashcans

truck sides

luggage carousels

toilet bowls

phone kiosks

drink coasters

bus shelters

swizzle sticks

pizza boxes

dry cleaning bags

movie screens

matchboxes

taxi tops

boxers' tattoos

portable bathrooms

gas pump toppers

fortune cookies

cellphones

umbrellas

book covers

video games

CD covers

sports arenas

golf carts

bowling balls

grocery carts -- Sources: Standard Rates and Data Service; Emagazine.com