Monthly Archives: January 2013

Herbert Marcuse and the Mayfly

Herbert Marcuse, http://www.marcuse.org/herbert/images/
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Step into a political philosophy class and there is a good chance you may learn of Herbert Marcuse and his writings in One Dimensional Man where he comments that  “people recognize themselves in their commodities; they find their soul in their automobile, hi-fi set, split-level home, kitchen equipment” (Marcuse, 9). Our purchases are no longer just items, they define us and our lives. At times, this may seem to be a bit of a stretch but I challenge you to reflect: how many commodities in your life do you consider a necessity? How many do you feel aid you in defining your life? Chances are, you can name quite a few.

One of my favorite examples of a company exploiting the connection or need for  a product is an advertisement from Vodafone, released in 2006. The advertisement seeks, and possibly succeeds, to manipulate viewers into believing that the product, or the brand, is necessary in our lives in order to achieve the happiness that we seek.

The life of the mayfly in the Vodafone commercial is one of absolute bliss while “soaring,” “swooping,” and “savoring every moment.” While the commercial may not actually be suggesting that we too need to soar and swoop in order to have fun and achieve a better life, by superimposing the company name at the end of the commercial, it does suggest that we can mirror the bliss of the mayfly by purchasing one of their products.

When explicitly laid out, it seems absurd to believe that a commercial such as this would be effective.

Yet, it must work. Vodafone’s annual sales saw an increase of two billion pounds following the ad campaign that included the mayfly commercial and we continually find inspirational advertisements that suggest a better, more spiritual life is linked to consumer products. I tried to reflect back on my own spending habits and recall any advertisements that may have been linked to them. Personally, I have already cycled through three different iPods (constantly ‘upgrading’ in models and model generations) and am now on my fourth cell phone. When my second iPod broke months ago, I noticed and commented to my peers about an instant change of mood. I constantly use my iPod while walking, riding the bus, exercising, and studying, among other activities. To not be able to do this for a short period of time caused a dramatic change in my daily habits. I had linked a sense of my very being to a $300 product that comes in a sleek plastic box from a high-tech corporation. Marcuse has me pegged.

Do you have a similar product in your life? 

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Lady Gaga vs. Target

I never planned for my first blog post to reference Lady Gaga. However, with the recent focus on Target’s various ad campaigns in lecture, I recalled the tension between the large retailer and the ultra-famous pop star. A deal had been inked between Lady Gaga and Target to release an “exclusive to Target” deluxe edition of her Born This Way album. However, Lady Gaga and her representatives moved quickly to dissolve the deal when it was discovered that the company’s political action committee (PAC) had made donations to Minnesota State Representative Tom Emmer’s campaign for governor, who is a staunch anti-LGBT activist and, according to some sources, has been associated with a ministry that advocates the killing of gay people.

Even further, Target’s PAC has reportedly donated over $30,000 to politicians who are openly and vehemently anti-gay rights activists — a message that runs directly against Lady Gaga’s overarching philosophies and even the direct motto in the title track “Born This Way.”

Besides simply a bout of bad press, it is important to question how this failed exclusivity deal between the retailer and the pop star links to marketing. I don’t think it is much of a stretch to say that much of the internal workings of a corporation as large as Target goes unnoticed, except to highly attentive shareholders. But the micro (internal) environment of a corporation can have a large effect on its marketing abilities in an instance such as this — although there may be a significant portion of Target’s clientele that agrees with their political donations, there is also a significant portion that doesn’t. This internal action by Target’s PAC lost them an exclusivity deal with one of the biggest pop star’s in the world (an individual who boasts an alarmingly loyal fanbase of “Little Monsters” and has over 33 million followers on Twitter). Arguably, these political donations created an external threat to its marketing: an extremely influential pop star has publicly denounced their brand name and refused to sell her products in their store, directly affecting which consumers can buy certain products.

This brings about a few questions: is it worth it for large corporations to run political PAC’s if they have the potential to be controversial? Is it acceptable for a company like Target to openly support political candidates who openly oppose the equality of individuals?

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