Review of Chapters 5 & 6 in An All-Consuming and Readings for Weeks 7 & 8
Gerry Cross in chapters 5 & 6 in “An All-Consuming Century” spoke about the1960s and 1770s as decades of turbulence that challenged the apparent consensus of the 1950s on many fronts. He argued that consumerism was also challenged and transformed. In reaction to manipulative advertising, wasteful consumption, and the conformist spending, the cultural constraint saw a rebirth and new creativity. The environmental movement challenged Americans to balance the obvious joys of cars, expensive suburban lawns, and ever-changing products and their costs in pollution, scarred landscapes, and lost resources. Despite lasting successes, by the end of the 1970s, these movements had …show more content…
The point was that Americans wanted to enjoy now and pay later. There was a declining sense of “class consciousness” in shopping. Not only has the affluent begun to buy in discount stores, but consuming became a token of personal validation rather than a measure of statues or affirmation of family role. There was a high increase in the purchase of color TVs, camping equipment, fashionable men’s clothing and even billiard table, far more spaces were devoted to shopping malls and other commercial activities. and by the end of the decade banks also had learned that it was more profitable to offer credit cards to consumers than to give investors loads. None of this according to Cross, meant that America became a classless society. A middling standard was achieved for a majority, but the affluent continued to display their success in ever larger houses, exotic vacations, expensive restaurants, and private schools. Status was increasingly hidden in lifestyle, superiority could still be asserted, but at a personal rather than class level, and this meant, a more varied pattern of speeding. By the 1970s, TV viewing had emerged as a core experience of American culture. The growing trend toward the use of TV as a preferred ad medium continued throughout the decade. Advertising grew more sophisticated about reaching target audiences. For …show more content…
A pioneer in this research, Arnold Mitchell, found nine lifestyles based on age cohorts an education as well as income. The bottom two-third of the population were the poor and the lower middle-class Outer-Directed shoppers (subdivided into Blungers, Emulators, and Achievers.) The top third were Inner-Directed consumers, consisting of an interesting mix of young rebels from affluent families – the “I Am Mess,” the slightly older “Experientials,” the small “Societally Conscious,” the older “Combined Outer- and Inner-Directed,” and the mature “Integrated.” Mitchell advised business how to target products and that advertisers needed to know that different lifestyle group might buy the same goods for very different reasons and needs to follow their life course. Another way of segmenting market was to appeal to black consumers. Merchandisers of products as films, cosmetics, insurance, cigarettes, and alcoholic beverages worked closely with black consultants and media personnel to target black. Examples, high-end beauty products appeared in ads appealing to the upwardly mobile black women, films like the shaft, though produced by whites, featured blacks. Like William O’Barr Stated in his article “Creativity in Advertising” advertisers at this period were highly creative. They worked by finding new news to attract