Consumption: A Gateway to Self-Identity Page 2



Companies know that people tend to buy for symbolic value rather than just use value; that is why they gauge their advertising to specific groups and individuals. Recently, I have been quite bothered by some of the new campaigns by companies such as Arizona Jeans and Sprite. The Arizona commercials show a group of kids talking and joking about how they want to wear what they want and don't want people telling them what to wear. This commercial bothers me every time I see it; if they don't want people telling them what to wear, then why are they telling me what to wear? The Sprite commercials are very similar. Their slogan "Image is nothing, thirst is everything" is very appealing, but then why do they get professional athletes such as Kobe Bryant and Grant Hill to endorse their product. Both of the companies are telling people to buy their product because it is a good product, not because it is the cool thing to do, but they come off saying this idea in a very hypocritical format.

The reason that these commercials bother me as that they try to say that they aren't selling an image while they blatantly are. I drank Sprite before the new add campaign and will continue to, but there is no way that I will ever put on a pair of Arizona jeans…mostly because I hate their commercial. Looking at my own patterns of consumption, I can see how television and mass media both have a heavy influence on consumption patterns. This influence reflects the patterns of American society to buy images. If images were not important, advertisements would not be aimed as strategically as they are. For example, if the only reason that people bought things was for use value, would there be a need to spend an excessive amount of money on effects and celebrities to sell a product rather than just explaining why the product is practical and useful? Advertisers try to influence what people buy by portraying a desirable image to their core consumer group. Consumers help define themselves through the images that they buy.

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