2007.03.30
Root of All Evil: Marketers
It’s been a while since I ranted and railed against marketers and their ilk. Time to take up the hammer and pound a bit.
It can be argued that America is in decline. Record numbers of people are in debt from credit cards, bad housing loans, and lack of any kind of savings. We’ve gone from a save to spend society; a production to consumer society. We’re no longer the leaders of technology or education. Money and brains… They are disappearing.
Why is this? Who is to blame? I blame marketers. Their sole purpose is to part people from their money. Once they’ve parted people from their money they convince people to spend more and the primary way to do that is with credit cards and loans. Once we have no money and are scrambling to pay off our accumulated debt we grovel for anything that can put more money in our pockets. So we pass laws like Prop 13 and elect leaders who always promise to cut taxes. Once we cut the taxes our public schools suffer. When that happens, within a single generation Americans are less qualified for well-paying jobs and less able to compete in the world marketplace. When that happens our economy suffers. Go back to the part about debt and start the cycle over again.
Yeah, this is a rant and horrible generalization, but the veneration of marketers in corporate America is a serious problem. Down with Marketers! Gegen Marketingspezialisten!
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5 Responses to “Root of All Evil: Marketers”
- Jordan says (March 30th, 2007 at 06:51:43 )
I had a brief dabble in marketing at the worlds largest ad agency in between jobs in high tech. I was high impressed at the morals attested to by the founder and carried down in the core values of the company. My favorite was “Advertising is about your client, not your client’s competitor. Never attack, or ever mention, the competitor in an ad we produce.”
Alas, lofty values often get poorly translated by those who execute them. So there was a lot “sleezy” behavior I saw, especially in the “viral marketing” division.- douglas says (March 30th, 2007 at 09:10:52 )
Yeah, I’m sure some marketering people do aspire to lofty ideals, but when it comes to making a buck they will do almost anything.
Marketers, BTW, are a broad field. Not just is it advertising, but I would personally throw lobbyists into this group.
- NHK says (March 30th, 2007 at 11:10:22 )
Advertising and marketing…yes, the line has become blured, but still, best not to lump them entirely together. I’ll always be a fan of truly *good* advertising; by good, I mean that which uses wit and creativity to sell a product rather than manipulation and pop psychology. Honestly, I do greatly enjoy working at advertising agencies; and yes, I know my condo in Hell will now be exactly six degrees warmer just for admitting that fact.
That said, I find it very sad that most advertising, across the board in the U.S. and, more and more, globally, has become increasingly corrupted by the number-crunching, demographic voodoo the marketers spew out. We now cater to the lowest common denominator…whatever makes the most impressions and sells the most units…fuck art, let’s sell (out).
Doug, we’ve both looked at some really nice ads from other (primarily European) countries, so you know what I’m talking about. The sportka ad with the birdy and the German cigar woman come to mind.
There is still some very nice stuff out there and people who want to make more of it, so I haven’t lost hope entirely. Who knows? Maybe there will be a renaissance sometime in the not-too far-off future.
As for the vicious cycle of tax cuts and uneducated children, etc., well…uneducated children *are* a problem, but I’m not convinced strong taxation is the solution.
I don’t actually believe that too many people are so stupid as to blindly Mastercharge their way into financial oblivion just because “the evil marketers” told them to do it. The problem is more complicated than that. Yes, you can do substantial damage by shopping at Nordstrom; you can also give birth to children you can’t afford and max out your cards at Target buying diapers. In fact, most people I’ve met (and many I hear of) who have unmanageable debt have incurred it by way of poorly thought-out or nonexistant family planning. Yes, single people can and do get into horrible trouble with consumer credit, but they at least have a decent chance of eventually digging their way out since they have no dependants. Add a child or two to the picture and you’ve got trouble. I’m *not* saying you have to be rich to have a baby, just that you need to have your wits - and prefferably a solvent partner of some sort - about you. Google “cost of raising a child” - it’s truly frightening.
One also needs to look at the predatory practices of lenders, both in this country and others. Consumer credit instruments have been around for a long time and have always been marketed; they are, after all, products! But consider the way U.S. banks can now offer a credit card with say, a 5% APR and then raise the rate to 25% a year later on a whim (they don’t need a reason anymore, the government now allows them do it pretty much arbitrarily).
Mortgages, as well, have been with us for an age; but not adjustable-rate, self-certified or interest-only mortgages, at least not in the general consumer market. Mortgages too, have always been marketed…the problem is that the *terms* of some of the newer mortgage products are unfair, as are the terms of many credit card agreements.
Perhaps the agencies-of-record for the banks should be forced to print a boxed warning, similar to that which one finds on a pack of cigarettes, saying, “Warning, the U.S. Attorney General has determined that this contract may be hazardous to your financial well-being” on their banking clients’ collateral. That, of course, isn’t much of a solution since such an edict is obviously not forthcoming from Washington.
It isn’t always the advertising agency you have to watch out for, rather, it’s often the client. Think of it this way: You are running an agency which has done business with XYZ bank for 30 years. Over the past 10 years, XYZ’s consumer credit and loan products have become increasingly troublesome from an ethical standpoint. You can drop the client, but your shareholders will revolt and you will likely go out of business or be absorbed by a rival; or, you can keep the client and watch consumers who aren’t savvy enough to recognize the changes in the banking industry and the way the U.S. government regulates said industry get burned. Either way, you’re screwed.
In brief, here’s what I feel the U.S. government could do in lieu of raising/not lowering taxes (I need to get back to work now):
Spank the banks.
Pass out free condoms and other birth control to the general public (please, let’s just make it easier the not-so-bright to have less children rather than get into some kind of natal cold war where the smart have to out-breed the stupid).
And, most importantly: Start spending existing tax dollars more intelligently. The United States has more than enough money to provide for its young; that money is just being spent on other things. It’s all a matter of priorities.
- NHK says (March 30th, 2007 at 11:58:36 )
The last bit of my above comment should read as follows:
In brief, here’s what I feel the U.S. government could do in lieu of raising/not lowering taxes (I need to get back to work now):
Spank the banks.
Pass out free condoms and other birth control to the general public (please, let’s just make it easier for the not-so-bright to have fewer children rather than get into some kind of natal cold war where the smart have to out-breed the stupid with ever-increasing ferocity).
And, most importantly: Start spending existing tax dollars more intelligently. The United States has more than enough money to provide for its young; that money is just being spent on other things. It’s all a matter of priorities.
- NHK says (April 2nd, 2007 at 13:05:10 )
Then again, today I was looking at adbusters…I waffle…Adbusters is in BC…mmm…waffles with maple syrup.
