Like last week’s blog, this week’s reading further highlights how most consumers are unsuspecting of products they purchase and the power of marketing. In chapter eight of Selling the Fountain of Youth, something that stood out to me is the vitamin industry. Even in the present, the vitamin industry is popular as some people may actually need to take vitamin supplements due to health complications or because of their lifestyle. In chapter eight of this book, the company called MyVitaminsRX created a product idea I thought was very successful in getting consumers to buy into the fraudulent claims proposed for their product. MyVitaminsRX made customized vitamin supplements for consumers at a low cost and from data collected from a urine-testing kit. In my opinion, the idea of “customized for you” is a very appealing idea. In addition, the use of a “test” is effective in persuading customers that the customized vitamin package is legitimate as most people are not aware a simple urine-test is not very accurate in formulating an “ideal” vitamin package as the human body is very sophisticated. The use of personal testimonies instead of certified experiments was a key factor in persuading the mass about the “positive” effects of drugs, vitamins, and food. Without people constantly contesting the validity of such products people can go around speaking gibberish, and most people who are not skeptical would hop into the anti-aging industry bandwagon. An example from the book is the endorsement of acai berry by Oprah Winfrey as a “super genius smart food of all smart foods” that apparently increases your memory and fights heart disease. To summarize with a quote from the book, “Talk show hosts were doctors. Businesspeople were healers.” (210)
I felt like this week's reading Selling The Fountain of Youth was really interesting. The cosmetic industry (anti-aging industry) exemplifies the power of marketing gimmicks and how humans are social animals that are easily swayed to bandwagon. Something that stood out to me in the cosmetic industry is how far people are willing to go to look pretty and look young. The cosmetic industry also illustrates how far people are willing to go to make money. An example of this is Botox, a literal poison that causes paralysis and removes wrinkles at the correct dosage and injection. While most people think of the positive side of botox, which removes wrinkles, the potential consequence of this treatment is paralysis of the face. However, most people do not think about the consequences because their only thoughts are to look youthful. This book also made me think about the marketing of things like diamond and the idea that being skinny makes you beautiful. In the aspect of diamonds, diamonds are just shiny rocks and actually not that rare. However, because of the monopolization and marketing of diamonds, society has come to the norm that before marriage, you absolutely need to buy a diamond ring for your significant other or how diamonds elevate your social status. Another concept that this book made me think about is the idea that being skinny makes you beautiful. This concept in our society makes it so that women may go as far as developing bulimia to lose weight and keep an “hourglass” like curve. While I do not think selling poison, harmful concepts, or shiny rocks is good for our community, the methods and way that people are able to get customers to buy their products is ingenious.
|
Danny yuDanny is a Molecular and Cell Biology major from San Francisco, CA. Fun Fact, he has a Black belt in karate. Archives
May 2021
Categories |