After interviewing my parents regarding my consumption as a child, it turned out that I was pretty needy. I would see a television commercial and immediately “have to have” that specific product. Regardless of the product that was being advertised, from action figures to board games, the TV commercial really made an impression on me. I would not stop nagging my parents until they eventually folded and got me whatever I wanted.
I guess that you could call it a combination of the nag factor and the marketer-kid alliance. As a child, both of my parents worked, which in turn led to me watching a lot of children based television programming. The commercials were constructed in such a way to formulate a sense of need in me. They knew exactly what I wanted and instilled this sense of “need” rather than “want”. However, if the commercials did not appeal to me, then the peer pressure from my friends and classmates would. Being at that young age, caring about what others thought about you was a big deal, and you were not cool unless you had the appropriate brands and products.
This picture shows this hyper-commercialized world we live in today. It is a look to the future showing Barack Obama selling advertising space on the American Flag. Scary thing is, the selling of ad space today is growing, and it largely has to do with the selling of the brand name. It is to a point where the product doesn’t even matter anymore, rather it is only the brand name that matters. We say that we live in this so-called “democracy”, but how do you live in a democracy when giant corporations like McDonalds, Nike, and Wal-Mart control our every decision? It’s not even about the product they produce any more, and that’s what scares me. Take Nike, for example. They take a piece of fabric out that costs them all of around two dollars, put a Nike “Swoosh” on them, and charge upwards of $100. It is scary to just sit and think about how involved we all are in this structure and how we all are drowning within this corporate system.
Believe it or not, but this corporate structure is here to stay. It only exists because we allow it to. By buying the products that we do, and giving into the advertisements we see today, there is no reason for them to change, unless we act upon our consumer ways with plans to change the current corporate structure.
Andrew Catalano
I really like your illustrations! But it is so true about the corporations won’t stop. As a society, we are giving into all the ads we are buying the products. We can say we are not affected by them but it’s almost inevitable. We need to start individually becoming responsible for what we consume.
-Andrea
By: slutbag on March 2, 2010
at 1:01 am
i also really liked your illustrations! you made a really good point about how commercials are targeted to childrens disires. although we dont actually need these objects to have a good life, we are being influenced that having them will somehow make us better.
Great job!
-Jessica M
By: slutbag on March 2, 2010
at 6:43 pm
Once again ill comment on the illustrations
good job!… it is so true how the power of the market will never deflate. Consuming and producing is what keeps our economy afloat (sometimes) yet when we OVER consume we end up where we are now.. in a recession. Yet its hard to say “no” to the markets when it seems like our only option.
Lea G
By: slutbag on March 3, 2010
at 8:33 pm
But are we capable of acting on our consumer ways… I mean I cant even keep my challenge of not shopping during lent!
As Lea said, you noted how advertisements focus on desires that go to a deeper level than needing something… how subliminal no?
Heather
By: slutbag on March 9, 2010
at 2:19 am