Did it not used to be that things, activities, stuff, it all used to pay for itself? Hockey games with clean boards, except for scuff marks from the pucks, and gouging from skates, sticks and the odd helmet. The boards are now plastered with ads. The buildings that house these sports are bought or "sponsored" by some commercial interest. The teams that play sport advertising on their clothing. Securing the voice and support of a particular star can boost your stock price. Everyone is scrambling for space to put "their" message, elevate "their" brand, and solicit that next customer. It all just seems to have gone so far. I guess the epitomy of commercialism was the 2008 Bejing Olympics. It was probably the biggest reason why I did not watch it. And the story of the day in GOOG. Are the advertising dollars going to be able to keep flowing as the economy tries to find traction, somewhere.
Or is my view a function of how I was brought up, and what I was exposed to. I remember my dad always peeling off the dealer sticker when he bought a new car because he didn't want to give anyone any free advertising.
The fact that we have everything under the sun brought to you by or sponsored by or labeled by some commercial interest is a direct function of the underlying quest for growth for the sake of growth. Reaching for the next incremental basis point of profit, and continued expectation of improving the top line and the bottom line. And for us consumers we get bombarded at all times, from all angles, all making convincing arguments why we should upgrade or acquire or whatever. It always takes me back to the phrase string; spending money we don't have, buying things we don't need, to impress people we don't care about.
No comments:
Post a Comment