I like documentaries. Canadian Broadcasting has produced a good one called The Corporation. Here is a clip from the series, the first half of which is breath-taking in its implications. If you are the parent of children under 12, this should be REQUIRED VIEWING. Most sobering are comments by Lucy Hughes (VP of Initiative Media, wearing the red blazer), who reflects on the morality of the corporate sales techniques she promotes. She "doesn't know" if it is ethical, but because it "moves more product," she is satisfied she is doing her job. Please read the next paragraph AFTER you view the clip.
What parent hasn't felt the attraction of peace achieved by placating whining kids. The fact that kids nag and parents give in is no surprise. What is surprising (disgusting?) is that Lucy (co-creator of The Nag Factor) is consciously promoting this dynamic. She and advertisers who want to move products aimed at future consumers are consciously working to bring out the worst in kids. Her and her ilk hunger for profits, even if it means turning your children into nag-monsters. Scary!
I guess what disturbs me most about Lucy's nag technique is not only that she' bringing out the worst in kids, but that she doesn't seem to recognize (admit?) that's what she's doing.
She seems to implicitly espouse mindless consumption as, somehow, inherently virtuous. That and the "faith in the corporation" comment were interesting to me for similar reasons--both the people speaking more or less shrug and say "that's just the way things are."
Also remarkable to me: she is pretty candid about how closely consumers resemble pawns in her grand strategy. I found the whole concept of "created wants" really interesting...it never ceases to amaze me how prone we all are to being manipulated.
Posted by: AC | May 01, 2008 at 08:39 PM
Lucy: “Nagging is just a general attitude that they possess [children]. It doesn’t mean that they necessarily act upon it [nagging] 100% of the time.”
· Yet that is your ultimate goal. Hence $12 billion/yr. Spent. Proverbs 22:15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.
Lucy: “You can manipulate consumers into buying your products. It’s a game”
· Are you playing the game?
Susan: “One family cannot combat an industry that spends $12 billion a year trying to get their children. They can’t do it.”
· VICTIM! Please send your relief fund contributions to my address. Upon receiving your gifts I will purchase two sledge hammers from the local hardware store as well as anything that might be “cool” to use in a certain demolition process (dynamite would be really cool). I will hire my two young sons free of charge to destroy any “media vehicle” that occupies the VICTIMs property/proximity. (WARNING: This response to a willing VICTIM is laden with sarcasm. Do not become a VICTIM!)
Lucy: “They are tomorrows adult consumers. So start talking with them now. Build that relationship when they’re younger and you’ve got them as an adult.”
· Deuteronomy 6:6-9 "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 "You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
· Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Did not the devil quote scripture in his temptation of Jesus? Does not Satan use scripture for evil? Can you imagine a society where parents actually worked hard as it concerned the welfare of children? Parents who INVESTED their time (Deut 6:7) rearing children in the way they should go (righteousness)? Parents who do not use the television as a babysitter?
The marketing groups of the world know for a fact (indirectly of course) that God’s way of raising children is effective and dead on. With all the outlets mentioned, TV, print, outdoor, and radio, they are executing Deuteronomy 6:7-9 in a negative way. With cheerleading from the devil, they accomplish their initiative with great damage. Parents today do not do a good job of building a relationship with their kids. A relationship implies a significant connection that consists of sacrifice, time invested, a genuine interest, and behavior that conveys love. Foundational work done in a child’s early years is so precious and fragile. As the old adage goes – garbage in, garbage out. Christians are tainted by television. How can we achieve purity with television in our midst? Let’s go Amish!
Lucy: “Is that ethical? I don’t know. Our initiative is to move product and if we know we move products with a certain creative execution, placed in a certain type of media vehicle, then we’ve done our job.”
eth·ics [éthiks] n
1. study of morality’s effect on conduct: the study of moral standards and how they affect conduct (takes a singular verb) Also called moral philosophy
2. code of morality: a system of moral principles governing the appropriate conduct for an individual or group (takes a plural verb)
in·i·tia·tive [i níshətiv] n (plural in·i·tia·tives)
1. ability to act on your own: the ability to act and make decisions without the help or advice of other people You’ll just have to use your initiative.
2. introductory step: the first step in a process that, once taken, determines subsequent events decided to take the initiative
3. plan: a plan or strategy designed to deal with a particular problem a peace initiative
4. advantageous position: a favorable position that allows somebody to take preemptive action or control events lose the initiative
5. politics right to introduce new legislation: the right to bring a new law or measure before a legislative body
6. politics proposal of legislation by citizens: a process valid in many U.S. states and in Switzerland that allows citizens to propose legislation by petition
Posted by: Bo | May 02, 2008 at 12:55 AM