Marketing and Mindspace

My Struggle (Against Modern Marketing Manipulation)

The following scene has unfolded itself many times when I'm buying something at a bricks-and-mortar store:

"Would you like to become a member and save 10 percent?"

"No, thanks."

"Are you sure, you'll save 10 percent?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

The cashier looks puzzled.

"We can still put you on our email list so you'll get our great coupons."

"No, thank you."

That's a typical back-and-forth. Some have been worse to the point where I get snippy: "How many times do I have to say 'no'?" What should be a pleasant exchange becomes one that leaves a bad taste in my mouth and probably isn't too fun for the employee. It's the kind of thing that drives me to do my shopping online.

[Why don't you just sign up? You'll save 10 percent.]

Because!

Because the initial question the cashier asked is manipulative and underhanded. It's designed to make you feel stupid if you don't become a member because you're spending more money than you need to. But what's the real cost of becoming a member? Clutter in your inbox,  clutter in your phone, clutter in your mind, all adding up to a constant niggling to buy stuff you don't need.

Mindspace is valuable and limited. I don't want mine filled with marketing effluvia. If the effort to keep the clutter away means I end up paying more sometimes, then so be it, money well spent.

Fortunately, because of my iron will and perceptive powers, I'm able to remain uncorrupted by our consumerist culture.

[What kind of soap do you use?]

Soap? Why, I use Zest. You see, Zest rinses clean. When you clean with Zest, you're Zestfully clean.

[Ah]

Okay, My Struggle is probably a losing one. Hundreds of billions in the U.S. are spent on advertising and marketing annually. Many smart people are working hard to find ways to influence my habits and decisions. It can only be hubris to think I'm somehow immune to it all. 

Technology, too, is as hungry for our attentions as the marketers. And it offers the illusion that with this new smartphone or tablet or whatever, I am actually an improved human being, that I have progressed, and I am progressing with the rest of humanity. Just look at all we've done!

Well, maybe don't look too hard.

Consumerism is at once the engine of America and simultaneously one of the most revealing indicators of our collective shallowness.

  -- Henry Rollins