Cynical Half Formed Rant

[mtreiten]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. cola sales are expected to fall 1 percent this year, and one industry expert says it's partly because Coke and Pepsi have put their legendary cola wars on ice.

But Coke's CEO Neville Isdell agreed with Sicher that cola makers need to rev up competition in order to spur demand for their brands.

Again, my feeling that

Comments

[closetgnome]

Though the rant may be "half-formed", you do make some very good points. I had a friend back at IU whose boyfriend was majoring in psychology. He decided to do a double major in business to boost his marketability. However, he quit the business program after taking some marketing classes, which, he stated, instructed their students to do exactly the opposite of almost everything advised in his psychological ethics classes.

(The cola advertising one may be a bad example in our particular household, however, as J's massive Dew consumption has never been linked to any kind of "cola war." However, I suppose that the indignation that he always experiences when finding places are Coke-only servers is a direct indication of his participation in said wars...) :P

Idetrorce

[anonymous]

very interesting, but I don't agree with you
Idetrorce

[g33kgoddess]

This is where it comes down to the personal responsibility of the individual to make the active decision to just not open up his/her wallet. Period. No cola company pries open our fingers to snatch the dollar bills from our grasp. Sheeple fall prey to the advertising and willingly hand it over. Choices are available. Everywhere you go.

If advertising had no effect, companies wouldn't spend billions on it. Sadly, there are enough people who buy into the hype, who are dazzled by the bright colors and sexy images, and who fork over hard-earned bucks for things they don't need.

The average consumer doesn't need more educated choices - the information is out there and available. What the average consumer needs is to take more responsibility for educating themselves, be more savvy about falling for ad-hype, and more self-aware about the meaning of wants vs. needs.

Oh, and I DO miss Calvin and Hobbes. :0)

[mtreiten]

Hmm. Sheeple. And who are the predators? Other sheeple. Heh.

I'm mostly confused, likely due to the engineering aspect of my thought process, about the causal relationship assumed by the individuals quoted in the full article. If they did not step up their marketing campaigns, the culture would continue to shift to purchasing other products. Is Madison Ave (or where ever) now in charge of maintaining the status quo like a glitzy cynical consumer version of sharia law? Because they failed to maintain their gimmicky artificial conflict, the sheeple have drifted away?

I do not mean to attack your livelihood, btw. =)

[g33kgoddess]

Ha! No... you're not attacking my livelihood!

Besides, I drew the line on that with writing about "fruit-flavored snacks" for a certain huge food manufacturer. They wanted me to make the snacks "sound" like a healthy alternative for kids without using the word healthy (to avoid the legal ramifications). The ad execs actually sat around the meeting table laughing about how UNhealthy the snacks were.

Granted, I already knew that because I read the package before I buy anything... but not everyone does.

Madison Av (or where ever) must maintain the status quo to fill their pockets in the easiest, cheapest way possible.

[avindair]

Oh, how I wish I could say I don't consume that much pop any longer. Diet Coke keeps me awake far too often at work, which is embarrassing to admit.

Fortunately, I actually HAVE cut back.

Thing is, I don't see any of the advertisements. It's just a habit. A bad one, but there it is.

To address your central point: As long as we have a business climate that emphasizes profits over ethics, advertising will always have sway. Until we decide as a people to reject those principles -- which, frankly, include mega-corporations, media conglomerates, and lobbyist-induced legislation -- we're going to face the status quo.

Frankly, Matt, I'm more and more reminded of your original pass at THAS in 1990-1991. A depressing amount of that really did come true, didn't it?

[mtreiten]

I know. From the military being blatantly used in advertising (see my rant about Anheueser-Busch and Sea World two years ago) to sponsorship of wars and such.

I never claimed that the idea to outlaw advertising was realistic. Those that got have a vested interest in keeping it and getting more. My most basic concern is that we're more interested in short term profits than long term sustainable growth. That's where things break down for me. There is a change slowly forming. Spend some time on a college campus and you'll see...

[g33kgoddess]

>My most basic concern is that we're more interested in short term profits than >long term sustainable growth.

Nail. On. The. Head.

Companies may make noises about a 5-year plan, but what really concerns them is pleasing the shareholders in the next quarter. And that holds true from the boardroom down to the project managers. It's a flawed American business model.