UNIT 5

By Panayotis Scordis

Consumer Capitalism

When you have worked through this study unit you should be able to:

 interpret ideological strategies behind the texts of advertisements;

 understand how to uncover these ideologies;
 analyse the composition of advertisements for a readership; and
 identify and discuss the crisis of consumer capitalism due to unequal
wealth and debt.

Please refer to Part C, Sections: 7.0 – 7.11 in Critical Reading and Writing in the
Digital Age for this unit.

5.1 What is consumer capitalism?

Consumer capitalism was first termed a century ago. During World War 1 the American
government encouraged citizens to purchase consumables. It influenced people into
helping fund the war effort through propaganda and coordinated buying. Consumer
capitalism is not clear-cut though – many people disagree that this condition even exists
in society. Regardless, consumer capitalism suggests that people are manipulated into
buying things from sellers due to a spiked demand. Mass media has not helped cool the
speculation as widespread advertising is aimed at very large audiences as potential
customers, and modern consumer capitalism is further driven by technological
advancements such as online buying.

Activity 5.1
Write a blog on myUnisa arguing whether global warming and climate change has been
used to manipulate consumers into buying a certain lifestyle.

The hype around eating healthier is reaching a precipice in society with more stores
selling organic, gluten-free, food. Would this be considered a form of consumer
capitalism? Explain.
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Consumerism is heavily reliant on choice. When we shop, it is rarely for something we

need, but rather for something we want. And, as choice is developed from individualistic
preferences, this may be one reason why there is so much choice in society. Think of
the different foods you can order on Uber or how many TV and radio stations are
available. The consumer market has been fragmented because the idea of choice
represents freedom for consumers. As the demand for choice intensifies, so does the
need to supply that demand, until we find ourselves in a situation where a product is
being mass produced for the sake of fulfilling a very superficial demand.

Consider the need to continuously update your cell phone. Most people will replace and
upgrade their phone every two years despite there being very little reason to do so. A
product that should be made to last a decade, is advertised as old technology
increasing the desire for an upgrade. This happens despite the functionality of the
device remaining roughly the same. In reality, we find ourselves living in a society where
inequality and private debt is ramped up due to unsustainable demand. Consumers can
no longer afford to meet capitalist demands and yet they feel obligated to do just that.
Therefore, the real question here is whether choice really equates to freedom?
Refer to Part C, Section 7.0, Table 7.1, Figure 7.1 and Figure 7.2 in your textbook
before going any further.

What is startling is the lack of increasing wealth among the mass population. Very little
increase in disposable income means that the consumers cannot afford products and
goods that are brought into the market. This in turn means consumers fall into debt,
relying on credit to sustain their ‘needs’. Have you ever heard that saying: The rich get
richer, while the poor get poorer? Well, if the distribution of wealth is anything to go by,
then this saying definitely makes a point. As wages fall below inflation, the lower and
middle class slip into a perpetual cycle of increasing debt.

As consumer capitalism relies heavily on getting the masses to buy into a demand, and
with the masses currently unable to do so, why are people still buying into products they
don’t need, like upgrading cell phones? The answer is advertising. Advertising has a
crucial role in sustaining an economic system.

5.2 Advertising

How do you get more people buying things they don’t need? Simple. Advertise. Excess
is all around. People think they need three watches, or 10 different pairs of shoes. They
feel like last year’s wardrobe is out of fashion or that their car is looking outdated. We
are constantly made to feel dissatisfied with what we have. Take a moment to think
about the role of advertising. Do you see adverts telling you to breathe? When to sleep?
When to go to the doctor if you are sick? What purpose would this have? You know that
if you hold your breath for too long you’ll pass out, or that you’ll sleep when you are
tired, or that when you feel unwell you need to see a doctor. These are needs. No one
needs to reinforce these ideas to you. Advertising serves to reinforce wants, and they
often disguise these wants as needs. For example, you need to eat food so an advert
for Macdonalds comes on TV instilling the idea that fast-food is a need.
Activity 5.2

Write down some products you have purchased that have been influenced through
advertising.
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Of course, not everybody will buy into everything advertised. This is where
fragmentation of the market comes into play. Products advertised may appeal to some
people more than others. Desire and power are two ideological effects that adverts
make use of in an attempt to shape your identity. Some products will transfer power
from the product to the consumer. Skin creams for women are a good example of this.
These adverts make use of female celebrities to enhance the power of the consumer by
placing more emphasis on the desire of the product. If a consumer buys the same
product that a celebrity uses then consumer image is psychologically lifted. Advertising
that relies on desire and power often seem to rectify a problem in a consumer’s life. The
product purchased will serve as a means to correct and reinstate a new identity. If we
look at skin creams once more, this product can rejuvenate a woman’s face and body,
thus solving the problem of ageing.

Some women have never bought into the idea that skin creams actually reverse old age
(and with good reason) but this does not mean that advertising still does not pull
numerous consumers. Advertising is often exploited as a means to rectify an issue
quickly. Hungry? Order fast food. Bored? Buy a PlayStation. Ageing? Buy skin cream.
Overweight? Buy a treadmill. People are always presented with a problem and then
pushed to buy a product-based solution.
Activity 5.3

Find an advert with a suggested ‘problem’ or ‘solution’ in the headline and write a blog
on myUnisa disassembling the advertisers proposed problem or solution. Counteract
their advert with your own solution to their product.

Are products presented to consumers as a means disempower them? Explain.

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We have seen how advertising can create desire and power for a consumer as well as
how products can offer solutions to problems, but advertising also relies on transferring
positive attributes. These attributes are often presented as personified feelings that the
product inherently has. Sometimes these attributes are used in the name of the brand,
for example, Bad Boy deodorant, but often they are used as a slogan for the product.
For example, the Body Works soap dispenser is the smartest soap on the market. The
transfer of quality between product and consumer can also be found when a product
uses celebrities or sports stars to advertise. Nivea is a good example of this when they
advertise soccer players from Real Madrid or Liverpool using the product. The
suggestion here is that the quality of the product is good enough to be used by
professionals. The implication of this is evident: if the Nivea deodorant is good enough
for professional athletes who run and train everyday then it will be good enough for you
sitting in your office.

Given the repetition of our lifestyles, it would be fair to suggest that people often lose a
sense of personal identity. This is not uncommon, but advertisements try to promise an
identity through their products. We have already seen how buying a certain product can
make you feel like better, more powerful, and offer solutions to life’s problems, but how
do they give you a new identity?

To answer this we need to consider mass culture trends. For instance, when a celebrity
endorses a product, that product will more likely sell better, and the more impressive the
celebrity, the more impressive the sales. There is an underlining assumption that
products that have been advertised by celebrities are naturally better. This assumption
is founded on the belief that celebrities can buy anything, and if that product is cheap
enough, then the masses will feel like they are buying something superior. Of course, by
buying the product, we are also buying into a small piece of their lifestyle and by default
- their identity.

But this is not the only way advertising has the effect of a new identity. Products,
through their association, are classed differently. People that drive BMW’s are classed
as wealthy or people that have good jobs and nice homes. This may be stereotypical,
but the classification still stands in society. This badge of membership is used to form
‘consumer clubs’ no matter what product you buy.

Activity 5.4

What superficial consumer identities in our capitalist culture can you make by
comparing products bought from Woolworths versus Spar?

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The irony with advertisements and providing a sense of identity is that ads are geared
towards the masses, and as such, there is no unique identity. Consumers are all
purchasing the same products. The very nature of advertising rests on the concept that
many people will buy the same thing. So how do advertisements make people feel
unique? Well, the advertised product is often on short supply, it is classed as unique
and superior, and targets people’s greed to feel better than the next person. This feel of
exclusiveness is often exploited, and not just to the masses. Watch maker Richard Mille
prides itself on selling very expensive watches to only a very select few. Their marketing
strategy is not who can afford the watch, but rather who should own the watch.
Naturally, a sense of individualistic identity is more pronounced and absurd when we
consider mass production products and the sense of exclusively here. The two concepts
just do not match up, but advertisers want us to believe that they do.

What advertisements do better than anything else is make you believe that you have
bought into a lifestyle. We briefly touched on this in Unit three with Camel cigarette
adverts. Advertisers will try and convince you that buying a product will give you a
certain desirable object or trait. This can range from buying a deodorant that women will
find sexy or purchasing car that will make you feel like James Bond. This method is
crude, but effective.

Refer to Part C, Section 7.8, 7.9, and 7.10 and carefully read through all three case
studies.

Conclusion

In this unit, we looked at what consumer capitalism was and the flaws surrounding this
condition. It should also be clear to you that people buy things they do not need with
money they do not have. Economic models have shown that wealth is not evenly
distributed and that sometimes the burden of debt becomes unsustainable. We then
discussed how advertisements were used to persuade people into buying goods that
were not necessarily needed through the use of a number of strategies. Firstly, we
learnt how advertisers sell products as a means to satisfy desire and power in
consumers. Secondly, we discussed how advertisers also promote products as a
means to offer up solutions to problems. Lastly, we touched on how advertisements
provide certain qualities to consumers and help to form a distinctive identity and
lifestyle.

Self-assessment exercise

Industries such as water and electricity have a monopoly on the market with no choice
for the consumer but to pay what they demand. How different would these services be if
consumers were given a choice?

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Glossary
Capitalism: an economic system where production and distribution is
controlled privately for profit.

Disposable: referring to financial terms – it is readily available funds and

assets available for spending.

Fragmentation: a process by which something is broken into smaller

fragments.

Inflation: an increase in prices which leads to the subsequent

decrease in the purchasing power.

References

Goatly, A & Hiradhar, P. 2000. Critical Reading and Writing: An Introductory

Coursebook. London: Routledge.