172Consume

Soc172aAdvertising and Society: 

Soc172a Advertising and Society Lecture 6 Commercialism and Consumerism

“Affluenza”: 

“Affluenza” Consumers are beginning to recognize that they have become “victims” of marketing and advertising campaigns Talk of “affluenza” and “buy nothing” days Yet still continue to buy and spend (often money they don’t have) Credit card spending up 7% in 2006

Impact of Commercialism and Consumerism: 

Impact of Commercialism and Consumerism Globally: It takes 4-6 hectares of land/per person to maintain consumption levels in developed countries Core countries expropriate resources of developing countries to maintain this level Our capitalist ethos of “perpetual growth” locks us into a system of development that Is destructive to environment Contributes to poverty and hunger in developing countries Jacobson and Mazur outline more immediate problems (see reading package)

It Starts Young…: 

It Starts Young… In U.S., $2 billion/yr. spent advertising to children Market revenues for American children 4-12 yrs. old are up to $30 billion White House directive in 1931 that parents should encourage children to be independent and to shop for themselves in order to teach them that their “personality… can be expressed through things…” (White House, 1931) All aspects of life are now affected….

The Appropriation of Holidays by Marketers: 

The Appropriation of Holidays by Marketers In 2006, Americans celebrating Christmas estimated to spend USD $795.86 each (www.forbes.com) In 2005, U.S. total USD $435.6 billion typical American is spending 130% of disposable income (Florida Family Magazine)

In Canada…: 

In Canada… November and December account for over one fifth of all retail sales December, 2006, Canadians spent an average of Can $822 per person on Christmas gifts (www.cbc.ca) South Park clip: http://southpark.comedycentral.com/videos.jhtml?videoId=103966&episodeId=103893

The Commercialization of Halloween: 

The Commercialization of Halloween Halloween became the second biggest holiday of the year for retail sales generated in Canada after 2003 (Christmas is still first.) Halloween spending has increased each year since mid 1990’s Canada $1.15 billion 2006 U.S. $4.96 billion 2006 Has become a holiday for adults Adults represent 65% of costume sales Young adults fuel the trend (Source: Retail Council of Canada)

Halloween in Canada 2007(Source: Canadian Retail Council http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2007/11/c2981.html): 

Halloween in Canada 2007 (Source: Canadian Retail Council http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2007/11/c2981.html) 68% of Canadians plan to participate in at least one Halloween-related activity Plan to spend $59-60* on Halloween items *men $64, women $56 77% of Canadians plan to buy candy, chocolates and/or other Halloween treats and expect to spend $30 on average. 47% of Canadians plan to purchase or rent Halloween costumes and are looking to spend $38 on average. 56% of Canadians planning to buy pumpkins

Halloween in U.S. (2005-2007): 

Halloween in U.S. (2005-2007) 36.1 million “trick-or-treaters” in 2005 1.1 billion pounds of pumpkins (USD $105 million) Per capita candy consumption: 26 lbs. in 2005 $12.5 billion chocolate, $7.2 billion non-chocolate produced in US in 2004 (source: US Census http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/007465.html) Americans plan to spend USD $5.07 billion on Halloween this year ($64.82/person) Young people 18-24 will spend $34.02 on just costumes (US National Retail Federation http://www.nrf.com)

Top Costumes in 2007: 

Top Costumes in 2007 Captain Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones from Pirates of the Carribean Harry Potter Princess Fiona from Shrek Transformers Spiderman (http://www.extremehalloween.com/tophalloween.htm)

Even pets are being dressed up….: 

Even pets are being dressed up….

Advertising and Culture: 

Advertising and Culture Advertising and popular culture almost indistinguishable i.e. symbols from ads quickly become part of pop culture For example, the Energizer bunny (Fowles) We learn what life is and what it means to be “human” in Western society through advertising (remember Michael Schudson’s “capitalist realism”)

The “Got Milk” campaign: 

The “Got Milk” campaign A marketing case study Something as basic and “boring” as milk can be promoted and advertised to increase consumption Early “got milk” ads (Tuckwell’s Introduction Stage) http://media.aef.com:554/ramgen/video/gotmilk/gotmilk_2_BoatAndSanta.rm?usehostname Later campaign – “A Town Without Milk” (Tuckwell’s Growth Stage) http://media.aef.com:554/ramgen/video/gotmilk/gotmilk_7_TownWithNoMilk.rm?usehostname Mature stage – Got Milk campaign used celebrities to reinforce and maintain identification with product