Advertising is a weird phenomenon. It tends to be a Chicken and the Egg type scenario. What comes first: the Marketer manufacturing the concept or the concept which is already manifest that the Marketer just co-opts in order to be “hip with the kids” or current/relevant? I would say that, unless it is an extremely “Underground” or “Under the Radar” Brand, then, it is generally the later case because Marketers are not “Creators”—they are not Artists; they rely on market research, which tells them the current climate in which they are trying to “position” their Brand and the type of Values/Lifestyles/Language they want to employ in order to “Target” a certain “Segment” of the population.
As you may have noticed, a lot of Brands today are trying to position themselves with this type of Individualistic attitude/Brand Personality in order to differentiate themselves from the rest of the Market no matter how far of a stretch it may be for the correlation between the product and this concept.
Case in Point: Miracle Whip.
What the hell do condiments have to do with defining one’s Individuality/Identity/Unique Personality? Does anyone really believe that by choosing Miracle Whip over Mayonnaise that they will not “go unnoticed,” “blend in,” “be ordinary,” “boring,” or “bland?”
Will this product help us to define who we are as an Individual and help us to create our own personal Lifestyle Brand? By choosing the “zesty” flavor of Miracle Whip over the tired, old egg-white flavor of Mayonnaise will we be rebelling against the System, bucking the Status Quo, or redefining a Generation? Does Miracle Whip’s refusal to conform help us to be more “Creative” or to “think outside the box?” By using Miracle Whip do we become the “Hero” or the “Outlaw” (or maybe one of the other 10 overly-simplified personality Archetypes that marketers use—based on Jungian (as in Carl Jung, a one time collaborator of Freud's) psychology—to define their target audience)?
Do we really believe that the most minute consumer decisions can express our Individuality and that the Brands we choose actually make a difference to our identities, our aesthetics, even our happiness?
We are our own unique, one of a kind flavor and we will not tone it down!
Some Hip Youths in an undisclosed location on the East Coast, who are still trying to decide which sandwich condiment best expresses their Personal Brand Lifestyle.
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