This is a reply to a student blog post. It’s that time of the year again; Black Friday. I completely agree with what Toby has pointed out about Black Friday. It’s one of the greatest marketing inventions of our century. Through this event firms are able to cover pretty much the entire communication process from encoding to feedback thus gathering throngs and throngs of customers. However, one aspect that I cannot ignore is the ethics of an event like this.
After-holiday shopping sprees have become a very vital aspect of modern consumerist culture. As a consumer myself, I think it is perfectly understandable as to why we participate in events like this. I mean practically speaking, who wouldn’t want to buy an ASUS S400CA ultrabook with an Intel i5 processor and 24GB of SSD for $639.99? Just talking about something like this makes my mouth water. As a result, I think annual events like Black Friday reveals the bottomless pit that consists of our desire consumer goods. Every year we somehow need to buy the largest HD TV sets or the most fashionable clothing as if our current wardrobe isn’t big enough or the 42” flat screen in our living room isn’t good enough. In a way, I think we are all like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby because we all believe in a green light albeit a new iPad, a new dress, a new computer, or even a new car. So the question to marketers is this: Is it really a great ethical to use Black Friday to promote excessive consumption of consumer goods despite of the ramification like environmental detriments that may result from this overconsumption.
Amidst all this shopping frenzy, North American shoppers have to remember that we are among the most privileged of privileged people on this planet. Next time you feel like you need a 50” LCD TV to watch your Netflix shows in HD remember that there are millions upon millions of people on this planet that still consider electricity to be a luxury. So maybe on Boxing Day, instead of lining up in front of Best Buy at 5:00 am, try going to the Salvation Army and giving some of your stuff away. Furthermore, remind yourself that whatever you plan to buy will not satisfy you forever; there will be always be a newer iPad next year.
“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter — to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…. And one fine morning——” — F. Scott Fitzgerald
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