Free Management Dissertations - Mayer (cited In Westra And Werhane, 1998) Argues That The Consumer Has Been
Mayer (cited in Westra and Werhane, 1998) argues that the consumer has been intentionally created by corporations with a focus on material salvation with instant gratification and therefore the desire for constantly more and new stuff becoming fundamental to our identity. This would then suggest that large corporations have created our consumer and materialistic society in the sole purpose for increasing their profits.
Di Norcia (1998) follows this notion and argues that advertisement has commercialized modern mass culture, encouraged consumers to shop for unnecessary products and distorted social values.
Crane and Matten (2004) have identified that the criticism of ethical issues in marketing can be broken down into two levels; individual and social.
Individual level is concerned with the use of misleading or deceptive practices that aim at the individual consumer in creating false beliefs about products or companies in order to increase purchase. Social level is concerned with the aggregate social and cultural impacts of marketing on everyday life, especially their role in promoting materialism and reifying consumption (Crane and Matten, 2004).
Marketing, especially the communications aspect of it, but not solely such, seems to be under strong criticism. However, the conundrum is, how could a company survive the overly fierce market that exist nowadays without following current strong marketing trends? Brenner and Molander (cited in Malachowski, Volume I, 2001) have conducted a research which results show that 43% of executives felt that many businesses had no choice but to resort to shady practices in order for survival due to stiffer competition compared to ever before.
Following is an outline of the main objections and criticisms to marketing communications as suggested by Crane and Matten (2004);
- It is intrusive and unavoidable because we are confronted with it everywhere
A recent study suggested that the average consumer is confronted by 2’500 commercial imprints a day (Bloom, 2003).
- It creates artificial wants
Do we really need and want the newest mobile phone, Dior Bag or Rolex watch?
- It reinforces materialism and consumerism
Marketing communication is argued to have generated and propagated an ideology of materialism in society, and associated an identification of consumption with happiness (Westra and Werhane, 1998).
- It creates insecurity and perpetual dissatisfaction
The mass media is selling an identity to the youth that they have been taught to crave. It is creating this image of attainable wealth and constant consumption, which in reality is unattainable for most people (Miles, 2000) and in such creating and aspiration gap (Arnould et al.
Dissertations - Free Management Dissertations
