SethGecko13 (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} sethgecko13) wrote,@ 2008-01-10 14:20:00 |
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Capitalism and "Created Needs"
Capitalism is lazy, or at least it's become lazy. Go to any retail store and you can see it. Rather than invest in seeking new products, services and ways of doing things that improve the quality of life for the average person - most corporations dedicate themselves to increasing their profits from the crap that's already out here.
Bottled water is a great example. Logically, there should be no reason why people are willing to pay $2-3/bottle for something they can get from their taps for free. It's a triumphant example of a "created need" produced through aggressive marketing, advertising and public relations. It would be bad enough if bottled water were merely an annoying example of the Pavlovian response in humans, but it's harmful to boot - it creates a tremendous amount of waste more than 75 percent of bottles aren't recycled (to say nothing of the wasted energy that goes into production). That's why I'm glad for campaigns like this:
Coke to Get Deluged By Anti-Water-Bottle Campaign: 'Tappening' Aims to Raise Awareness for Recycling Efforts
By Natalie Zmuda | Published: January 08, 2008
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Incoming Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent will be receiving quite the welcoming gift come July. Mark DiMassimo, creative director of marketing shop DiMassimo Goldstein, and Eric Yaverbaum, president of public relations agency Ericho Communications, are planning to deliver 1 million used water bottles stuffed with messages to Mr. Kent as part of an awareness campaign they call Tappening. The campaign aims to encourage consumption of tap water, as well as get consumers to buy reusable bottles emblazoned with messages including "Think Global. Drink Local." More ... | Tappening: Preaching the Gospel of Tap Water
Bill Moyers interviewed Benjamin Barber on his show recently about how capitalism is undermining American democracy, and he touched on many of these issues (including specifically the "created need" for bottled water). You can watch it here.
Related to all of this, Bob Sullivan was recently on Fresh Air with Terri Gross talking about "Gotcha Capitalism" (which is all of the ways in which corporations lazily seek to profit from cheating consumers rather than honestly earning their money, like through the fine print in contracts that result in fees and penalties). You can listen to it here.
Capitalism is lazy, or at least it's become lazy. Go to any retail store and you can see it. Rather than invest in seeking new products, services and ways of doing things that improve the quality of life for the average person - most corporations dedicate themselves to increasing their profits from the crap that's already out here.
Bottled water is a great example. Logically, there should be no reason why people are willing to pay $2-3/bottle for something they can get from their taps for free. It's a triumphant example of a "created need" produced through aggressive marketing, advertising and public relations. It would be bad enough if bottled water were merely an annoying example of the Pavlovian response in humans, but it's harmful to boot - it creates a tremendous amount of waste more than 75 percent of bottles aren't recycled (to say nothing of the wasted energy that goes into production). That's why I'm glad for campaigns like this:
Coke to Get Deluged By Anti-Water-Bottle Campaign: 'Tappening' Aims to Raise Awareness for Recycling Efforts
By Natalie Zmuda | Published: January 08, 2008
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Incoming Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent will be receiving quite the welcoming gift come July. Mark DiMassimo, creative director of marketing shop DiMassimo Goldstein, and Eric Yaverbaum, president of public relations agency Ericho Communications, are planning to deliver 1 million used water bottles stuffed with messages to Mr. Kent as part of an awareness campaign they call Tappening. The campaign aims to encourage consumption of tap water, as well as get consumers to buy reusable bottles emblazoned with messages including "Think Global. Drink Local." More ... | Tappening: Preaching the Gospel of Tap Water
Bill Moyers interviewed Benjamin Barber on his show recently about how capitalism is undermining American democracy, and he touched on many of these issues (including specifically the "created need" for bottled water). You can watch it here.
Related to all of this, Bob Sullivan was recently on Fresh Air with Terri Gross talking about "Gotcha Capitalism" (which is all of the ways in which corporations lazily seek to profit from cheating consumers rather than honestly earning their money, like through the fine print in contracts that result in fees and penalties). You can listen to it here.
