Greek Speak — The truth about advertisements
By: Karrie Kent
Tags: Philosophy, Conflict Theory, Marx, Movie Quotes, Sociology

I have said many times that I avoid using absolute terms for a lot of reasons. They invite argument because there are exceptions to rules. “Smoking is bad for you and you will get cancer and die from it!” “Bullshit! My grandmother smoked two packs a day and lived until she was 92 and died in peace!” Also, to say something “always, only or never, etc.” is to say that there is no other way it has ever been or could be. That is a sorely limited perspective which causes more damage than good when disseminated to the public such as I find in the endless memes on Facebook.

This will be an exception that my rule. Simply stated, at the heart of all (there’s my absolute term) advertisements is the suggestion that as we are now, we are not good enough. This plays on primal instincts to better ourselves for the purpose of evolving and propagating our species and to compete for top mating rights. The way advertisements do this is by appealing to one, or maybe two or all of these, but usually just one:

1. Pathos — our emotional self

2. Ethos — our sense of ethics

3. Logos — our sense of logic

I don’t think I need to explain those. I want to explain why I think this is true. Advertisements are created and designed to sell products and services, sometimes they act as a public service announcement and so on, but primarily, to sell stuff. Whether ads are uplifting or make us feel poorly, they exist for the purpose of enticing us into buying a product or service. That is the “definition” of an advertisement (imho).

This reduces us to mere consumers, that’s shitty. Those who are selling the products and services must do so forever, meaning we consumers must keep buying things forever or else the economy could collapse. That isn’t a good thing from any angle. But what is worse is the idea that we, as we are now, are not good enough! WTF? Who says so? What are they basing this absurd idea upon? What gives them the right to judge and serve me my own image of self-worth and then tell me that I am not good enough unless I buy their shampoo and look like the model in the commercial? You know what? If we start feeling that we are good enough, we will stop buying shit we don’t need! Whether we all wake up instantaneously, (which I seriously hope it does not happen) or gradually over time, we will evolve from a consumer/manufacturer-based society to whatever comes next. I don’t know what that would be because it hasn’t happened yet.

There is a whole lot more to this consumerist concept that I started writing about 13 years ago when I wrote my senior honors thesis. At the time I wrote it, I had the ideas, nascent though they were, but I lacked the communication skills I needed to really express what I was trying to say. I think I just did. Let me rephrase to be absolutely (just broke my rule again) clear on what I am telling you. You and I, as we are now, are good enough! I don’t mean stop everything because we have reached a point of perfection. I mean that we don’t need to keep buying a bunch of shit we don’t need in an effort to better ourselves.

Let’s work with what we have within the rules of our system. Let us join our minds and hearts, together for the purpose of promoting the happiness and well-being of all. Two heads are better than one and there is power in numbers.

Keep thinkin’ keep feelin’

I find that appealin’

Dont run and hide

Take a look inside

You’re on my mind

My body lost in time

Who am I, who is me?

Stop askin’ and create

Who YOU WANT to be!

Then life can be great

I manifest with my voice

It all depends on my choice

The future is here

Shit, its already gone

The root of all evil

Ain’t money’ my friend

I finally realized

It’s ignorance in the end

I don’t want a big house

I got better shit to do

Then cleanin’ all them rooms

That I never even use

Whats that you say

Get a maid…

I don’t need that shit

I do things in my own way

(One of my little raps)