As Cathy notes in the above cartoon, we assign social status to objects. Owning or using these objects transfers that status to ourselves. Because of this linkage, products and ideas can be marketed based on how the user wants their status to be perceived.
1) As a result, we use consumption to define the social boundaries of ourselves and others.
2) We consume to establish our status.
3) And we identify the status of others by the products they consume.
Below are two ads for a feminine hygiene product, separated by only two years but a significantly different advertising strategy.
This ad targets women by appealing to the traditional home and family. The settings are easily recognizable and apply to a large segment of the population. In addition, the copy emphasizes natural aspects of human beings.
This ad appeals to women who want the feelings associated with "high class". The images and the copy
concentrate upon the feelings of luxury and the desirable status pictured.
We consume to establish or maintain social and professional relationships.
As we learned in Module 3, by consuming, we can form bonds with others in our "bounded culture". Social bonding gives "peer pressure" the power to influence consumption.
1) Consumption = Sex
2) Consumption = Love (Watch first WITHOUT SOUND)
3) Consumption = friendship and social membership
Uniting the entire world through consumption was the goal of this classic commercial. This is a recreation of an actual 1971 ad.
"Younger" consumers are an especially desirable target for consumption. They have both leisure time to consume and disposable income to spend.
As the ad to the right proclaims, "More delicate in flavor ... for those with keen, young tastes."
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