Big Mac Attacks and Other Raids on Consciousness, Redux

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Just saw another one of those “I’m a PC” ads whose language suggests the complete identification of the consumer with his purchase. In the spirit of recent online and offline conversations, I republish this old post:

A young woman buys a pair of Calvin Kleins to shore up her sense of self worth. A middle-aged man who feels he’s trapped in a loveless marriage, spends an enormous sum on a wide-screen TV. “I really shot my wad that time!” he says, flushed with pleasure. All of us accept the intrusions of the market into our sense of meaning and identity. We’re strong enough, each of us reasons, to resist its effects.
	Before we know it, our ability to buy something—anything—at two for 79 cents becomes a measure of our civic health. There are no panicked crowds at the Wal-Mart, no looters carting away pieces of the central government.  We move effortlessly from bins of cut-rate flip flops to shelves of discounted ammo.  We needn’t be in any great hurry.  None of the true costs of our American way of life—e.g., environmental degradation, workers without decent pensions—are there to interfere with the pleasure of a low, low price.
To purchase is the verb into which every contemporary action resolves.
	It might have happened in your lifetime. Not long ago, in some nondescript boardroom in Milan or on Madison Avenue, a fashion executive rose from his seat to suggest that his company produce a line of clothing whose brand should no longer be confined to a discrete label attached to an inside seam. No, he said, the company’s brand should be printed in bold letters on the garment itself, essentially turning the wearer into a walking billboard. Moreover, he suggested, the customer should pay dearly for the privilege. Another executive, a small man with sloping shoulders, sneered at the idea, saying the public was too intelligent to be duped by such a clearly cynical product line.

Image sources: bus ad, McDonald’s ads, Chanel ad

Comments

[A Brand is the Alien that shall Burst from your Chest]

what slopes the small man's shoulders - and does it also shrink him?

[Ratepayers Unite!!]

"The increased pressure on the [natural gas] lines shouldn't present a safety issue," [Peachie-E spokeswoman] Romans told the Apie. "We never went over the legal limits allowed by law."

Some local officials expressed outrage when hearing of the practices, including Rep. Jackie Speeeeer, who represents San Bruno and the surrounding area.

"It's a gross irresponsibility to place ratepayers at that kind of risk. Natural gas is the Alien that shall Burst from one's Chest; we must mobilize all available resources against these growing threats."

[Grandstream Distributor]

corporate brand must be printed in bold on the clothes themselves, mostly by turning the holder of a panel on. He also suggested that the client must pay dearly for the privilege.