They tempt us to fill the bottomless emptiness of loneliness with material things. We fall easy prey to advertising gimmicks and misleading ads.
-Monica Fernandes
“We are living in a material world”, belted out pop star Madonna, and we are material men, women and children. How true! At festival times, instead of spending some time in introspection, prayer, with our family, using our talents productively and reaching out to the needy, we are focused on the next mega sale.
Our blind aping of the West has led to our jettisoning the ancient value of cooperation. Extreme individualism is leading to the breaking up of relationships in families and among friends. We are egoistically focused on being the center of attention. That is why people take selfies in dangerous places such as at the edge of a cliff, sometimes with fatal results. This social turmoil has led to a vacuum of loneliness in our lives. Companies are taking maximum advantage of the situation. They tempt us to fill the bottomless emptiness of loneliness with material things. We fall easy prey to advertising gimmicks and misleading ads.
Price framing: Advertisements create the illusion that the price is less. For instance, we may decide not to exceed Rs.1000 in purchasing an item. So if the price is Rs. 999, we grab the item, little realizing that we have been fooled.
False urgency: When we shop online, we are sometimes see the message, ”Mega Sale ! Hurry! Only few left in stock.” We are bent on grabbing the item before it is too late. In reality the product may be defective or stored for too long. We should check the manufacturing date, especially for food items.
Eye catching advertisements and fancy packaging are used to make an item look attractive when it is not so. This is tactic used to con the gullible buyer. Celebrities endorsing products is another trick. I recall the ad of glamorous star with heavy makeup adorned in a striking sari. She looked gorgeous. I later saw someone wearing the same sari. It didn’t look so great on her but she probably thought she looked like the film star. Again, celebrities are shown eating some very unhealthy processed food for the photo shoot. In reality, they follow a strict diet where processed food has no place while we land up eating unhealthy stuff. It makes sense to carefully read the ingredients of the product especially with regard to eatables and cosmetics, before being carried away by ads.
The internet is having a profound effect on our spending habits. Where those from the lower income bracket once saved, they use their money on clothes, cosmetics and the latest mobile. EMIs are very tempting but little do we realize that we are living beyond our means and the bubble could burst at any time. The expensive car we ‘own’ could be confiscated by the bank in case we are unable to pay the EMIs due to a loss of job or illness or accident. A very stressful situation indeed.
Another trick used is promoting family packs. Due to the economies of scale, these are cheaper than individual packs. The question we need to ask ourselves is whether we are in a position to consume so much. If we land up throwing out the excess, we are unwittingly contributing to the degradation of the environment.
“Buy one, get one free,” scream the ads. We fill our closets with unwanted clothes just because we have got one free. In reality the manufacturer may have doubled his price before offering the bogus discounted price or he is getting rid of old stock or the items are not in demand as the fashion has changed.
Children are often the targets of ads. Parents are prepared to make sacrifices to buy toys and eye catching garments for their children. Money can’t buy a child’s love but some parents don’t seem to think so. They ply their children with the latest gadgets and then ignore them while they party. The kids are left in the care of nannies.
Retail therapy lifts our moods, relieves our stress and makes us feel good temporarily. But it is no substitute for healthy relationships. Strong bonds don’t happen overnight. We have to work on them instead of wasting our time and hard earned money on trifles that are here today and gone tomorrow.
Possessions do not bring us peace of mind. The famous authoress Ayn Rand said, “Money is only a tool.” It helps us to live comfortably, to afford medical treatment especially as we age, to enjoy ourselves. But it should be used responsibly not merely for our instant gratification, but also to reach out to others.
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