Back-to-School Shopping Campaigns Already?

Although tens of millions of children haven't finished the school year, Madison Avenue is already feverishly getting ready for the next one. Such front-running of seasonal milestones should no longer be surprising, given how marketers, retailers and media companies have been time-shifting the calendar to stimulate business related to holidays both official (Christmas) and unofficial (Super Bowl Sunday). Still, it may startle students when they see advertising asking them to buy clothing, school supplies and other merchandise for 2013-14 while they await final grades for 2012-13.