The State of America's Emotionality

Ahso! · Post by **Ahso!** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 10:01 am

Accountable;1397637 wrote: Well then, I guess you'll have to either get used to being pissed off or stop blaming your emotional state on others.I'm using this quote because it provoked the thought.

It's interesting how common it is in American life to make others responsible for one's feeling, or emotions. I submit we're conditioned that way by our capitalistic system. Here's why I say that.

In a consumer economy such as America's the idea is to sell dreams. Our products and services are invented, manufactured and marketed with the intent of creating the illusion that owning them will make life easier and thus provide us more time to "enjoy" life or make us feel better about ourselves or our circumstances. We tip our food servers based on how well they do in making our meal enjoyable by paying attention to our needs above their own or the others they are simultaneously serving.

Watch any sporting event on television and notice how the advertisements promise to increase our viewing pleasure with their beer, pizza, hot-wings or how much better we'll look behind the wheel of the newest car model (not to mention what fools we're willing to make of ourselves during the acquisition process portraying us as slobbering over the pretty machine).

The list is seemingly endless.

It's all about feelings - no wonder we're addicts. Sales instructors teach their students to find the customer's "hot-button" in order to assure them that their product will alleviate whatever it is they fear.

Google made an issue of this and required their advertisers to appeal to reason in Google advertisements. I can recall an incident back in 2006 or so when BMW decided to ignore Google's policy and went ahead with emotion based ads. Much to everyones surprise Google canceled BMW as an advertiser. That took balls and caused me to to think of Google as a company with a conscience.

What's equally interesting is that the forces that work overtime to make us 'feeling dependent" on them are also the same entities that make the claim that government is actually the guilty party by running out insulting arguments and slogans of government dependency.

It appears to me from being on many forums over the past 7 years that emotional dependency is less of an issue in other countries that appear to have less consumerism and more government in their daily lives.

Any thoughts?

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 11:02 am

Ahso!;1397649 wrote:

Google made an issue of this and required their advertisers to appeal to reason in Google advertisements. I can recall an incident back in 2006 or so when BMW decided to ignore Google's policy and went ahead with emotion based ads. Much to everyones surprise Google canceled BMW as an advertiser. That took balls and caused me to to think of Google as a company with a conscience.

Any thoughts?

Sorry you have the story a bit skewed.

Nothing to do with "Emotion Based Ads" but 'Black Hat' methods of getting the site ranked on Google.

For information

Ahso! · Post by **Ahso!** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 11:16 am

Bruv;1397654 wrote: Sorry you have the story a bit skewed.

Nothing to do with "Emotion Based Ads" but 'Black Hat' methods of getting the site ranked on Google.

For informationThat'll teach me not to go strictly on memory. I recalled "manipulative" as the key word.

Any thought on the gist of the post?

yaaarrrgg · Post by **yaaarrrgg** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 11:41 am

Now that you mention it, I notice a variation of this in the campaign of Ron Paul. According to Paul's theory, a competition has winners and losers. Those that do not win in the game are fully responsible for their own loss. For example: If a person doesn't have health insurance, let 'em die. It's their own fault.

Except of course, when Paul competes and loses a competition, Paul doesn't apply the standard to himself. Instead he seems to imply that there is a grand conspiracy against him by Fox news and others. Paul could have admitted instead that he was either not a good product (didn't sell) or was not marketed well (again his fault, he's the salesman).

Conspiracy theory may be a specific case of blaming others for our emotional state, as it provides a layer of insulation between reality, and the claims made about it.

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 11:45 am

Ahso!;1397656 wrote: That'll teach me not to go strictly on memory. I recalled "manipulative" as the key word.

Any thought on the gist of the post?
To be honest.....No.

You are over thinking it, anyone with a product to sell does it the best they can, anyone with half a brain ignores most of it.

Ahso! · Post by **Ahso!** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 11:53 am

Bruv;1397659 wrote: To be honest.....No.

You are over thinking it, anyone with a product to sell does it the best they can, anyone with half a brain ignores most of it.You don't think much thought goes into product marketing?

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 12:00 pm

Ahso!;1397661 wrote: You don't think much thought goes into product marketing?

It is an industry in itself, so is the porn industry.

You don't have to buy into their message

yaaarrrgg · Post by **yaaarrrgg** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 12:08 pm

The marketing probably defines the product (what is sold) more than the manufacturing process. For example, if someone is buying Nike, they are buying Nike, not the shoe. Nike is an abstract idea, which grants anyone possessing it supernatural powers along with inhuman strength. Likewise BMW isn't selling a car but a magic elixir that attracts females, the car is the bottle.

Ahso! · Post by **Ahso!** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 12:12 pm

Bruv;1397662 wrote: It is an industry in itself, so is the porn industry.

You don't have to buy into their messageNo, you don't. But you think all that work the marketing industry puts into product marketing is a scam or something? Just a waste of money because it really has little if any influence?

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 2:21 pm

Ahso!;1397665 wrote: No, you don't. But you think all that work the marketing industry puts into product marketing is a scam or something? Just a waste of money because it really has little if any influence?
It obviously works, that's why it is a huge industry.

The best advertising goes unnoticed, the worst is a pain, both work.

Don't think it depends entirely on 'emotionality'

Ahso! · Post by **Ahso!** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 3:55 pm

Bruv;1397678 wrote: It obviously works, that's why it is a huge industry.

...

Don't think it depends entirely on 'emotionality'I agree. It would be nice to see more advertisement that appeals to reason though.