When: Friday, December 12, 5 – 11 PM
Where: pinkcomma, 81B Wareham Street
Posted Under:
Flickr Artifacts by Rob Walker on December 10, 2008
Comments Off on Flickr Interlude
An interesting bit in an Ad Age story notes how limited-time promotions introduced during spending slumps tend to hand around and become part of the marketplace:
Downtime promotions can be addictive
American Airlines, defending its position, in May 1981 introduced AAdvantage, the industry’s first loyalty-marketing program. United Airlines followed with Mileage Plus, a short-term promotion that was to end in 1982. Frequent-flier programs went on to become a permanent fixture in airline marketing.
Chrysler introduced auto rebates in early 1975 as a short-term promotion to clear its bloated inventory. Automakers have been addicted to rebates ever since.
And zero-percent financing after 9/11 too, right?
Lurking in my bookmarks is this article summarizing recent research on false memories and consumer behavior. I’m not sure where I got it from — I’ve forgotten! — and it looks like it was posted in October and has gotten around, so maybe you’ve seen it.
Still, this is an area of great interest to me, so I thought I’d pass it along just the same. The piece describes a study with two phases. First, subjects answered questions that supposedly created a “food and personality” profile related to childhood eating experiences.
A week later two-thirds of the participants were told in this profile that they had got sick after eating egg salad at an early age, while the remainder — the control group — were not. … Using questionnaires [researchers found] that almost half of the experimental group had taken the bait and created a false memory. …
Then, phase two: Four months later, participants were contacted by a different researcher. (Who was actually working with the original researchers, but the participants were led to believe there was no connection.) This study was supposed to be about food preferences, and involved some sandwich-choosing.
The folks who had accepted a false memory of childhood illness from egg salad sandwiches tended to avoid such sandwiches in this study.
What this study clearly shows is that not only is it possible to instill false memories in a significant minority of people, but that these false memories can have a marked effect on behaviour.
I’m not sure that’s actually news, but it does seem in line with other research I’ve read about false memories, whether in the realm of consumption or elsewhere. More on false memories and consumer behavior in this article about retro-branding that I did for the Times Mag, and also of course in the third chapter of Buying In. You may have known that but I’m just … reminding you. (Also: You really liked what I had to say and resolved to tell all your friends — remember?)
You’ve read about the 48-Hour T-Shirt in Core77, PSFK, Design Observer, Coolhunting, Coudal, or We Are The Market. And now…
.
The second 48-Hour T-Shirt is now no longer available. That’s the design, above: Two colors on a brown American Apparel 4.3-ounce fine cotton athletic fit T.
A summary of the research inspiring the design, below, is also available in PDF form, here.
A psychological study offers an interesting lesson in “false consensus.”
The research involved dividing into two groups; members of each were asked to read an essay about Rasputin, and then asked to evaluate their feelings about him. One group was given an essay that noted Rasputin’s correct birthday. The other was given the identical essay, but the date of his birthday was changed — to be the same day as that of the reader.
The latter (same birthday) group evaluated Rasputin notably more favorably than the control group did.
Mark R. Leary cites this research in The Curse of The Self, noting that if our opinions can be affected by such a “minor, egocentric matter,” it should be no surprise that “factors even more intimately related to our views of ourselves also influence our judgments of other people.”
So: Perhaps if you wear this T-shirt, you will make a good impression.
Design by Greg Eckler (www.theviciouscircus.com), MFA student in the graphic design department of Savannah College of Art and Design.
The T-shirt “I Show How You Feel” is no longer available. Time is up! Inquiries about your order: Please contact the designer directly, at: greckler@theviciouscircus.com.
The aim of The 48-Hour T-shirt Project is to prod consumers to think more about our own behavior, about how we can be manipulated, and about how we manipulate ourselves. Yes, doing this by way of products may be seen as either ironic, clever, or hypocritical. That’s (part of) the point.
Sign up to be notified via email when third and final design debuts on Monday, December 15, here.
* * *
The 48-Hour T-Shirt Project is proudly sponsored by The Murketing Organization, and Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are, recently named one of the five top nonfiction books of 2008 by Salon; one of the 10 best business books of the year by Fast Company, and recommended by Core77 as one of its 77 gifts under $77.
BETWEEN THE LINES:
How the latest high-low fashion hit fits the new shopper model.
This week in Consumed, a look at the recent Commes des Garçons/ H&M collaboration, and what it says about how such team-ups may be adapting to a new role in a changing marketplace.
The underlying trend-logic of this strategy previously turned on the belief in a societal surge toward the finer things — a nation “trading up” into new “masstige” lifestyles. Lately, enthusiasm for that theory has retreated even faster than our credit-card limits…
[Now] it is not so much about the masses grasping for prestige as it is about a rarefied consumer group grasping for deals — or, perhaps, for a form of splurging that seems more socially acceptable while fellow citizens are losing jobs and nest eggs. If new trend-logic invariably demands a fresh coinage, consider frugalitism. (Or not.)
Read the whole column in the December 7, 2008 issue of The New York Times magazine, or here.
Earlier in the week I did a short interview previewing this column for New Hampshire Public Radio’s Word of Mouth, here.
Consumed archive is here, and FAQ is here. Consumed Facebook page is here.
“Letters should be addressed to Letters to the Editor, Magazine, The New York Times, 620 Eighth Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10018. The e-mail address is magazine@nytimes.com. All letters should include the writer’s name, address and daytime telephone number. We are unable to acknowledge or return unpublished letters. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.”
Coolhunting posts some images of KAWS’ show at Gering & López Gallery. August 3, 2008 Consumed on KAWS’ move into the traditional gallery world is here.
NYT says “In Leaner Times, Online Coupons Are Catching On,” and in another story, “This Season’s Must-Have: The Humble Coupon.” July 27, 2008 Consumed on this subject is here.
NPR assesses “Recesssion Wear,” meaning clothes from thrift stores. November 21, 2008 Consumed on Goodwill here.
Disquiet, which pretty much owns the Buddha Machine beat, brings news of the Buddha Machine iPhone app.
Core77 reports on winners of a Muji design contest. Some interesting stuff. January 9, 2005 Consumed on Muji here.
I’ll admit I’ve been distracted, so maybe I missed it, but has someone written about the aesthetics of the Thai anti-government demonstrators?
Aside from the remarkably consistent outfits, what’s up with those hand things? Where did they get those? It looks like something that would have to have been manufactured, and they don’t appear to be rare:
Reminds me of the Orange Revolution a bit. And I was thinking the visual analysis looks like a job for Mr. Heller, right?
Again, maybe this has all been covered and I missed it, but I’ve been struck by some of the pictures, even if I clearly haven’t been reading the articles!
That’s the title of a 30-minute documentary from Paper Tiger Television and Anne Elizabeth Moore. Sorry marketing pros: It’s not a how-to.
This video collaboration will look at how big business is chipping away at democracy through underground cultures — and how underground cultures willingly participate.
The program will examine how and why anticorporate culture and independent media have been co-opted by corporate advertising and the profit-making agenda, examining instances where the government and big business collude to silence independent voices — and concerns for social justice.
A follow-up to Moore’s 2007 New Press book, Unmarketable: Brandalism, Copyfighting, Mocketing, and the Erosion of Integrity, the video Infiltrating the Underground investigates what happens when the underground becomes just another market, and what independent artists
and media makers can do about it.
Infiltrating the Underground: The Corporatization of Underground Culture airs Wednesday, December 10th at 3 and 11 p.m. on Brooklyn Community Access Television, and at 8 p.m. on Manhattan Neighborhood Network. I gather previews will be posted on the Paper Tiger blog. Copies of the video can be purchased “for classroom use or to air on local community access stations,” from Paper Tiger.
Earlier: Murketing Q&A with Anne Elizabeth Moore about Unmarketable.
Posted Under:
Anti,
Brand Underground,
To Do by Rob Walker on December 3, 2008
Comments Off on To Do December 10 in NYC: “Infiltrating The Underground”
Is it just me, or is this pitch a bit disturbing?
Dear Rob,
In light of the recent Wal-Mart tragedy, I would like to offer a conversation with [redacted; name of consultant], who can offer tips on holiday shopping etiquette during the craziest shopping days of the year.
[Redacted] can discuss best practices consumers should consider when venturing out to the major shopping centers in the weeks leading up to the holidays.
Put aside the fact that there’s absolutely no relation between the suggested story and the stuff I write about. I’m curious about the notion that someone getting killed in a Wal-Mart sales frenzy is a good jumping-off point for a list of “tips on holiday shopping etiquette.”
I mean, etiquette? “Tip One: Trampling a man to death is very poor etiquette.”
I’m also a little disturbed at the idea that it’s consumers who are supposed to take away some kind of lesson about “best practices” after that incident. Maybe the retailers ought to be thinking about and improving, or at least reviewing, their “best practices” for handling Black Friday “door buster” promotions, no? Or are we now down to a sort of “shop at your own risk” scenario when it comes to the big holiday sales?
Core77’s list of 77 Design Gifts Under $77 is noteworthy for a few reasons. First, a couple of the gifts are “Core77 Exclusives,” including this, which I think is my favorite item in the entire roundup:
“These throwing star magnets are perfect for any metallic surface. Post notes on your fridge door, or make your mark wherever you feel outnumbered.” $19, for two magnets in a “ninja-styled shuriken box.”
Also noteworthy: Cyperoptix Tielab makes the list. Murketing.com is a longtime supporter of the Tielab, having interviewed creator Bethany Shorb in this site’s very first “Subculture Inc” Q&A, back in August of 2006. And I’ve bought two of her ties, even though I basically never have reason to wear a tie.
Of course I’m also pleased that Buying In is on the list. Just thought I’d mention that.
Anyway that leaves 74 more entries for you to peruse, here. Plenty of stuff worth checking out. So check it out.
You’ve read about it in Core77, PSFK, Design Observer, Coolhunting, and Coudal.
Get on board the 48-Hour T-shirt train.
Your opportunity to buy the first T in the series — see it here, or simply scroll down a bit — expires in 12 hours, at 10 a.m. Eastern.
The next T debuts Monday December 8. Sign up to be notified here.
The Murketing Organization has been receiving some valuable assistance lately from Tom Hosford, of Washington & Lee University. Among other things, Tom has made possible something I’ve long wanted to add to the Flickr Interludes mix: A mini-portfolio and short Q&A, relating to a particular set discovered on Flickr that has some relationship to this site’s subject matter.
Example? A set of images that makes a Dave & Buster’s location, of all places, look carnivalesque and exciting and maybe even seductive. Or that’s what I think of the first Flickr Set of The Month: Dave and Busters. Over to you, Tom…
The Flickr Interludes displayed on this site are of a pretty all-inclusive nature: “Anything about consumer culture, defined as broadly as possible.” But you can go beyond just the photo, and look at “sets” of similar themes, which can often say a lot more. The photo is just one track; the set is the whole album.
So for the first Set of the Month, we decided to look at Flickr user SA_Steve, who shot every bright light and strange sign he saw inside the restaurant/video arcade Dave and Buster’s. What resulted was a great set, capturing a truly electric environment. — Tom Hosford
Q: How did you ever get the idea to invade a Dave & Buster’s
A: I went on a team outing with my former employer to Dave & Buster’s; I of course had my camera since I carry it everywhere. I took some photos while we were playing games and such, after they left for various reasons, I figured it would be a great place to go wild shooting (and it helped I was out of money by that point.:))
Please continue…
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