You’re a schmuck unless you drive a car like this. You won’t be attractive to the right partner, unless you spray this scent on yourself. People will do anything to avoid feeling shame. Which is why advertisers love to use the fear of shame as a motivator. This is why we’re bombarded daily by advertising telling us how imperfect we are.
Your dog won’t love you unless you feed him this dog food.
You’re simply not good enough unless you update to this model of phone.
You’re not healthy enough unless you eat this yogurt.
Your social life is rubbish unless you get this pizza takeout.
Pretty much all of marketing and consumer economy is built upon creating need – and most of the time you only really need something when you’re lacking in some way and aren’t good enough!
We’re bombarded with around 600 advertising messages a day. On the TV, radio, in the corners of the many websites visited, brands on cars, shop windows, word-of-mouth from people, our own appliances and brands.
That’s a lot of “you’re not good enough” messages to absorb.
The media is packed with shame. We love to watch people make a fool of themselves on TV so we can mock them and feel better about ourselves. We love to watch disgraced politicians or celebrities on the news so we can join in the shaming brigade.
Ratings are chased with sensationalist titles like “I’m a Freak” or “Embarrassing Bodies”.
The whole celebrity culture has become a self-fulfilling circle of nothingness, with very little talent or role-models for young people to look up to or be inspired by.
The main message getting projected out seems to always be “you’re not quite good enough”.
This is who you should be.
This is what you should be.
This is how you should be.
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