Marketing in America

Face it, it’s not love that makes the world go round.  No, love is overrated when compared to money.  And in their constant search for money, the real movers and shakers of our world are in advertising.  I am in awe of the way advertising has taken over our whole media, from magazines to newspaper to radio to television to product placement in movies.

What is advertising, you ask?  It is the ability of corporations to convince people to buy thing they do not need.  Why do you need a new Kindle Fire when the old one works just fine?  Why do you need an I-phone or a Smart Phone when your old cell phone also works fine?  Why?  Because advertisers have told you so.

They have sold you a bill of goods that not only compels you to buy their product, but it makes you feel inferior if you don’t.  Ever notice how jewelers advertise around Christmas about buying diamonds “for the one you love, because she deserves it.”  The reverse of this thinking is that if you don’t buy her that diamond, either there is something wrong with you, or something wrong with her, but there is definitely something wrong.  BUY THAT DIAMOND!

Think about the advertising on TV.  Kids channels are bombarded with ads aimed directly at our children.  They say, in essence, if your parents don’t buy you this stuff, the other kids will laugh at you, and most of all it proves your parents don’t love you.  So pester your parents incessantly until the acquiesce and purchase our product.  And late night TV is even worse, where they insist that if you act now you can acquire the latest styles and quality no one else in the industry can match, and all it takes is a mere phone call.  No cash, no credit, no money down, and no interest for four years, if you call now, at 300am.  But hurry, because it’s a limited time offer.  At 3:00am?  And, as an added bonus, they will send you an all-purpose trendy clutch that you can take with you anywhere (that is, if you are the size of a Barbie Doll.).  Even if you return the offer, you can keep the clutch as our gift to you.  Bull Shit, try returning the offer.  Their red tape makes the Governments’ tame by comparison.

Where do people learn how to sell ice to Eskimos, you ask? Well I’m here to tell you.

They have college programs where you can get a BS – which stands for Bull Shit – in Business Degree.  You can also get a Bull Shit in Marketing Degree, and also a Bull Shit in Internet Marketing Degree.  One University offers a Bull Shit in Marketing Concentration Degree, but balances that out with another Degree in Business Management with no Marketing Concentration.

I don’t make this stuff up folks, I just report them.

If you still want to further your advertising education, there is the Venerable Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, which claims, in their online site that, “Recent research topics include such areas as: cognitive processes of consumers; consumer preference measurement; marketing decision support systems; design and adoption of new products and services; and social media and consumer inter-dependencies.”  This is gobble-de-gook for “we will  teach you to learn to sell folks exactly what they don’t need, over the internet and elsewhere.”

So folks, don’t believe the bull shit.  Do some research and buy as you need, not as you want.  These greedy corporations need to be brought back down to earth, and the power is in your hands.  You don’t need the clapper.  Get off your lazy ass and turn the lights off yourself.  It’s good exercise.

And recognize advertising for what it is, the placement of products designed to entice you to think them cool, and needed, and worth spending your hard-earned cash for in spite of your better judgement.  Truth in Marketing does not exist, despite Federal Trade Commissions claims to the contrary.

Caveat Emptor :  Let the buyer beware.  And open your mind.  You’ll be surprised what’s in there.