When John M. Shanahan created a phonetic study tape for his son Sean in the mid-1980s, he was going against the “modern” perspective on teaching reading. However, it was far from a new learning technique. Phonetic learning was the traditional way of learning to read before the 1930s, when professors decided that the technique was redundant and pointless. Instead, the prevailing belief became that children would learn to read naturally if they were faced with simple words in context, as in the “Dick and Jane” schoolbooks.However, this technique failed Shanahan’s son Sean, whereas phonetic techniques on tape worked. This success, and the popularity of the tapes among his neighbors, inspired Shanahan to market his system as “Hooked On Phonics”. He focused on advertising to sell the product, even going so far as to purchase the phone number 1-800-222-3334 (1-800-ABC-DEFG) for 10,000.The millions of dollars spent on advertising certainly helped, but the fact that Hooked on Phonics worked was the real draw. Along with updating the basic system, Shanahan added a Hooked on Phonics Writing Kit, a Hooked on Phonics Classic Achievement Series, foreign language programs, and more. While these proved popular among parents and children, Shanahan did not have any scientific statistics to back up his advertising, a fact which led to a landmark FTC case. Shanahan sold the company and it was bought up by a former satisfied customer. The new corporation launched the studies to prove that not only was Hooked on Phonics working, but it was working better than any other system.Today, Hooked on Phonics features both testimonials and awards on its site, including the Teachers’ Choice Award for the Classroom, the Curriculum Administrator Districts’ Choice Top 100 Products, and Dr. Toy’s Best Educational Products. The company also offers different products for different age ranges, starting with toddlers and going to 3^rd grade & up, so parents can rest assured that there’s a program specially tailored to fit their child’s needs.