Genes or Jeans maketh the man

I have spotted another sign of aging, the people in adverts no longer look like me. OK to be fair I never really looked like the body perfect models who show up in adverts but at least at one point I was the same general age of these people. Now that I am no longer 20 (or 30) something I am definitely not advert material unless potentially we were talking about Regaine or some other “mature focused” products, most of which are a lot less flattering than losing a bit of hair. (Viagra or Xenical anyone)


And it is not that the adverts with the perfect people are not my age any longer I am not sure if they are even advertising at me. There is currently an advert for Fiji on the telly where two perfect specimens step out of a float plane and walk together along a deserted palm tree lined beach. So I know this isn’t for me because apart from the fact I don’t look like the people on the advert if I were to go to Fiji I would have a child with me for a start.

So who are they advertising at because the people who do look like the advert (the 20 something crowd) can’t generally afford that sort of trip with the float planes etc and are much more likely to be backpacking their way around Asia or Europe. So the answer is they are advertising at me and it is supposed to be “aspirational”. I am meant to want to be like the people on the advert and go to Fiji anyway and spend my time by the pool of a resort feeling that in some way I am part of the advert fantasy.

This is the same silliness you hear around brands, the reason why Kelvin Klein jeans are a lot more expensive than some no name brand (or even a standard brand). They are not selling jeans but the Kelvin Klein life style that goes with them. So just like sitting at the pool in Fiji is supposed to make me feel like the six pack model with the perfect girlfriend on the beach, wearing KK jeans is supposed to make you feel a little closer to the fashion divas of Paris etc. (Kelvin Klein is just an example by the way I don’t have it in for him or his brand)

Why do we fall for this stuff (and I presume we must of the advertising mob wouldn’t waste their time with it) What does this say about our self esteem? That we are so easily diverted from true self by some trinkets that pretend to deliver entry into the “right” group.

They say that these days you get to pick your tribe, meaning that once upon a time the total number of people you would meet would be those in your village or nearby so you had a need to conform to the local tribal views. Now with improved travel and especially communications via the Internet you can connect with all sorts of people worldwide that share your views. Of course if you find yourself “following” Kelvin Klein and other aspirational brands then do you really know who you are? Or are you being told what tribe you should follow.

I personally hate being told what to do by anyone, least of all marketing teams so I avoid brands, if I do buy a brand name it is because it earned its status by being the best not because a marketing guy created a vision for me to buy into. Know yourself, think for yourself avoid apirational marketing for no other reason than it makes the products a lot more expensive.