Betrayed…

I read an article the other day on Townhall.com that really got me thinking. The article is “We Must Do Better By Our Children” by Rebecca Hagelin. I recommend that you read it.

 

The article talks about how marketing today is much more hidden and insidious than it has ever been. I don’t think that marketing is necessarily insidious – it’s just a thing – but I do think it’s more hidden and subtle than ever before. I’m going to summarize the video as briefly as I can and then get to the meat: Marketing in the Church.

 

In the article, Hagelin references a Frontline program called “The Merchants of Cool” and she recommends that you watch it with your teens and talk about it. I watched the video and I DON’T recommend that you watch it with your teens. I trust and admire Hagelin, but there was much in the video that shocked me. So, if you end up watching it, just know that I’m giving it a major content warning. Frontline showed some things that were being broadcast on MTV and some stuff from a few popular movies that I wasn’t prepared for (the Frontline program was made in 2001).

 

The video focused on the efforts of Madison Avenue ad execs to market products to people who don’t want to be marketed to; teens. It talked about the Mook. A normal, everyday, teenaged, fictional male who never grows up. His quest is for fun and he is obsessed with sex. Not only do advertisers want males to watch the Mook on TV, the advertisers want teens to BE him when they get older.

 

For girls, Frontline called the perfect advertising character the Midriff. Apparently, baring one’s midriff is a sign of empowerment and girls find their identity in what they are (beautiful), not who they are. I wasn’t shocked at the ideas (alas), but I was shocked at the ages of the kids that were trying to market themselves so they could “make it.”

 

The last segment of the video is called “Teen Rebellion: Just Another Product.” This got a “duh” from me. Of course teen rebellion is marketed and sold. Frontline showed a bunch of kids in line for a concert by “Insane Clown Posse” (ICP), a band that does Rage Rap. The kids were dressed in goth/emo style and had their faces done up with a stylized black on white or white on black clown makeup. Frontline interviewed the kids in line and then the band members. The fans said (paraphrased) “We own this. It doesn’t belong to any corporations. It’s ours.” The band members said, (paraphrased) “The thing that makes us unique is that the fans own what we do.” Of course, shortly after the Frontline segment, ICP signed with a major label, went on MTV, did a WWF cameo, and hit number 20 on the charts.

 

No big deal, right?

 

I’m sorry if it sounds silly, but I felt really bad for the kids in line for the ICP concert who said, “We own this” only to have it bought/co-opted by rich, savvy adults who then turned it around and marketed it back to the fans. What a betrayal.

 

I know this happens and that it’s part of life. If you want to avoid being taken advantage of, you need to know that people are going to try to sell you something. People are interested in what you can do for them or what service they can sell you, they’re not interested in YOU.

 

Marketing focuses on groups of people (demographics) and asks the
question “How is our product being perceived by
(teens/tweens/adults/young marrieds/etc.)?” If marketers are ever
concerned with individuals, it’s only to find out how the group is
thinking or feeling about certain issues or products.