Who am I?
I just watched the most recent Frontline called the Persuaders and it was a pretty good show. It was pretty much an extension to another Frontline, one of my favorites, called the Merchants of Cool. I get really pissed off about advertising. I hate commericals, except sometimes when they are so good that I actually go and seek them out. I love my TiVo (Yes, I know that this is ironic. I used the word love to describe a brand in an essay about how much I hate that shit). I was at the movie theater the other day and there were like ten minutes worth of commercials before the trailers started. Real commercials for boring products like shampoo. I was pissed off. I paid ten dollars for that? I get mad when I hear about another stadium getting a name change to a corporate brand.
But I know I'm not smart enough or tough enough to combat the ads. I made a comment a couple of years ago during lunch with my friends and people looked at me like I was insane. I told them that even though I don't like to admit it I bought my car in part because of what I thought people would think of me driving it. My friends were apalled. How could I be shallow. I think I was just being honest and I think they were being dishonest by saying they didn't think that way. I had decided to by a Jetta before moving to Seattle because I needed a new car (my '86 Monte Carlo SS was falling apart) and I had a new job so what the hell. I wanted to make a certain impression on the people of Seattle. If I made the wrong impression then I would end up hanging out with people I didn't like. I had to be smart about this. I thought the Jetta portrayed a young and smart college educated person who was worldly enough to have a european car and my choice of NWA and Outkast in the CD player made me a little cooler. Don't laugh. I may not have thought those thoughts on the surface but they were certainly there. People who say they buy stuff without thinking about this stuff even at the subconcious level are either liers or unwilling to look at themselves for who they really are. I was also looking at other cars, like the Kia Sofia which was like only $8,000 which would have giving off the vibe that I thought that I was cool enough to have a shitty car and that I wanted to spend my money on better things. I also looked at the BMW 325 which would have definitely shown people that I had a good job but I was also worried that people might think I'm a jackass.
The brand of Beer people drink is also something I think at least some people choose because of what other people think of them. Of course, I don't think I'm like that. :-) PBR. I'm convinced that most people who are in my demographic and drink Pabst Blue Ribbon do it because it they want to portray the image of someone who may have money but is down to earth to drink real beer. Just like the common folk.
Identifying a brand with a subculture is exactly what marketers do. Jettas are marketed to young college graduates. You can find the marketing categories you most likely fall into my typing in your zip code on this site. I live in the zip code 98119 so me and my neighbors are either American Dreams, Bohemian Mix, Money & Brains, Urban Achievers, and Young Digerati. I think that's pretty acurate of my neighborhood. It's kinda scary.
Ok, now you can make fun of me.
But I know I'm not smart enough or tough enough to combat the ads. I made a comment a couple of years ago during lunch with my friends and people looked at me like I was insane. I told them that even though I don't like to admit it I bought my car in part because of what I thought people would think of me driving it. My friends were apalled. How could I be shallow. I think I was just being honest and I think they were being dishonest by saying they didn't think that way. I had decided to by a Jetta before moving to Seattle because I needed a new car (my '86 Monte Carlo SS was falling apart) and I had a new job so what the hell. I wanted to make a certain impression on the people of Seattle. If I made the wrong impression then I would end up hanging out with people I didn't like. I had to be smart about this. I thought the Jetta portrayed a young and smart college educated person who was worldly enough to have a european car and my choice of NWA and Outkast in the CD player made me a little cooler. Don't laugh. I may not have thought those thoughts on the surface but they were certainly there. People who say they buy stuff without thinking about this stuff even at the subconcious level are either liers or unwilling to look at themselves for who they really are. I was also looking at other cars, like the Kia Sofia which was like only $8,000 which would have giving off the vibe that I thought that I was cool enough to have a shitty car and that I wanted to spend my money on better things. I also looked at the BMW 325 which would have definitely shown people that I had a good job but I was also worried that people might think I'm a jackass.
The brand of Beer people drink is also something I think at least some people choose because of what other people think of them. Of course, I don't think I'm like that. :-) PBR. I'm convinced that most people who are in my demographic and drink Pabst Blue Ribbon do it because it they want to portray the image of someone who may have money but is down to earth to drink real beer. Just like the common folk.
Identifying a brand with a subculture is exactly what marketers do. Jettas are marketed to young college graduates. You can find the marketing categories you most likely fall into my typing in your zip code on this site. I live in the zip code 98119 so me and my neighbors are either American Dreams, Bohemian Mix, Money & Brains, Urban Achievers, and Young Digerati. I think that's pretty acurate of my neighborhood. It's kinda scary.
Ok, now you can make fun of me.
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