I've become a fan of the TV show "Mad Men," which begins in the early 1960's, just before what has been called "the Creative Revolution." This was an "era of modern advertising by promoting a 'position' or 'unique selling proposition' designed to associate each brand with a specific idea in the reader or viewer's mind. "  Watching the show  has made me think  about advertising and how it works.

What causes so many people to go into debt, chasing happiness by acquiring more stuff? Some insight is provided in Rob Walker's new book, "Buying In." Walker also has a website, www.murketing.com, and a column about what he calls the "consumer persuasion industry" in the New York Times.  He states there is a secret dialogue between what we want (and buy) and  who we are.

We have an internal Interpreter  who makes sense of what happens in our lives. We all want to feel "I am nice and I am in control." We all think we are above average. The Desire Code addresses the tension between wanting to feel we are special and also wanting to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Most products are what he calls "pretty good" and indistinguishable. Advertising makes one stand out by attaching it to an idea or belief. When we buy that product we unconsciously purchase the idea, such as "authenticity," "attractiveness, "loveable -ness, "intelligence," etc. We see connections when there really are none.

Being  aware of the attempts at marketing does not provide immunity. "Priming" associates images with feelings. Today's young consumers are just as affected even though they know this. People think the priming does not influence their purchasing choices, but studies show they are. Advertisers are using MRI scans of the brain to see what works, and "click" advertising is now everywhere on the internet. The young are supporting brands more than ever, and product placement  abounds in most forms of entertainment, as well as many surfaces such as walls and billboards. Buying a certain product provides the feeling that you are part of a social community. These symbols are powerful.

The purchasing act involves novelty which releases pleasurable sensations and dopamine. Using a credit card postpones the unpleasant feeling which also comes with spending money, so the pain is limited for awhile. This explains why we often don't ever use the things we buy.

If we break this cycle, our economy would have to exist without these "bubbles," and I'm not sure how that would look. However, I think that we have to find some way of balancing saving with spending.

The Jam
Pretty Green

I've got a pocket full of pretty green -
I'm gonna put it in the fruit machine -
I'm gonna put it in the juke box -
It's gonna play all the records in the hit parade -
This is the pretty green - this is society
You can't do nothing - unless it's in the pocket
- oh no -

I've got a pocket full of pretty green
I'm gonna give it to the man behind the counter
He's gonna give me food and water -
I'm gonna eat that and look for more -

And they didn't teach me that in school -
It's something that I learnt on my own -
That power is measured by the pound or the fist -
It's as clear as this oh -

I've got a pocket full of Pretty Green!

The Clash
Lost In the Supermarket

I'm all lost in the supermarket
I can no longer shop happily,
I came in here for that special offer
Guaranteed Personality

I wasn't born so much as I fell out
Nobody seemed to notice me
We had a hedge back home in the suburbs
Over which I never could see

I heard the people who lived on the ceiling
Scream and fight most scarily
Hearing that noise was my first ever feeling
That's how it's been all around me

I'm all lost in the supermarket
I can no longer shop happily,
I came in here for that special offer
Guaranteed Personality

I'm all tuned in, I see all the programmes
I save coupons from packets of tea
I've got my giant hit discoteque album
I empty a bottle and I feel a bit free

The kids in the halls and the pipes in the walls
Make me noises for company
Long distance callers make long distance calls
And the silence makes me lonely

I'm all lost in the supermarket
I can no longer shop happily,
I came in here for that special offer
Guaranteed Personality

And it's not here
It disappear



Rolling Stones
I Can't Get No Satisfaction

(Devo Version)

I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get me no satisfaction
And i try and i try and i try t-t-t-t-try try
I can't get no i can't get me no
When i'm riding in my car
And a man comes on the radio
He's tellin' me more and more
About some useless information
Supposed to fire my imagination
I can't get no uh no no no
Hey hey hey that's what i say
I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get me no girly action
When i'm watchin' my tv
And a man comes on to tell me
How white my shirts could me
But he can't be a man 'cause he does not smoke
The same cigarettes as me
And when i'm flying around the world
And i'm doin' this and i'm tryin' do that
And i'm trying to make some girl
Tells me baby better come back later next week
Can't you see i'm on a losing streak



Joe Jackson
I'm the Man

Pretty soon now
Y'know I'm gonna make a comeback
And like the birds and the bees in the trees
It's a sure-fire smash
I'll speak
To the masses throughout the media
And if you got anything to say to me
You can say it with cash
'Cause I got the trash and you got the cash
So baby we should get along fine
So give me all your money 'cause I know you think I'm funny
Can't you hear me laughing
Can't you see me smile

I'm the man
I'm the man that gave you the hula-hoop
I'm the man
I'm the man that gave you the yo-yo

Kung fu
That was one of my good ones
Well what's a few broken bones
When we all know it's good clean fun
Skateboards
I've almost made them respectable
You see I can't always get through to you
So I go for your son
I had a giant rubber shark and it really made a mark
Didja looka looka lookit alla blood
Give me all your money 'cause I know you think I'm funny
Can't you hear me laughing
Can't you see me smile

I'm the man
I'm the man that gave you the hula-hoop
I'm the man
I'm the man that gave you the yo-yo

Right now
I think I'm gonna plan a new trend
Because the line on the graph's getting low
And we can't have that
And you think you're immune
But I can sell you anything
Anything from a thin safety pin
To a pork pie hat
'Cause I got the trash and you got the cash
So baby we should get along fine
So give me all your money 'cause I know you think I'm funny
Can't you hear me laughing
Can't you see me smile



Paul McCartney
Junk

Motor Cars, Handle Bars
Bicycles for Two
Broken Hearted Jubilee

Parachutes, Army Boots
Sleeping Bags for Two
Sentimental Jamboree

Buy Buy
Says the Sign in the Shop Window
Why Why
Says the in Junk the Yard

Candlesticks, Building Bricks
Some Old and New
Memories for You and Me

Buy Buy
Says the Sign in the Shop Window
Why Why
Says the in Junk in the Yard



Neil Young
Piece of Crap

Tried to save the trees
Bought a platsic bag
The bottom fell out
It was a piece of crap

Saw it on the tube
Bought it on the phone
Now you're home alone
It's a piece of crap

I tried to plug in it
I tried to turn it on
When I got it home
It was a piece of crap

Got it from a friend
On him you can depend
I found out in the end
It was a piece of crap

I'm trying to save the trees
I saw it on TV
They cut the forest down
To build a piece of crap

I went back to the store
They gave me four more
The guy told me at the door
It's a piece of crap



Roxy Music
In Every Dream Home, A Heartache

In every dream home a heartache
And every step I take
Takes me further from heaven
Is there a heaven?
I..d like to think so
Standards of living
They..re rising daily
But home oh sweet home
It..s only a saying
From bell push to faucet
In smart town apartment
The cottage is pretty
The main house a palace
Penthouse perfection
But what goes on
What to do there
Better pray there

Open plan living
Bungalow ranch style
All of its comforts
Seem so essential
I bought you mail order
My plain wrapper baby
Your skin is like vinyl
The perfect companion
You float my new pool
De luxe and delightful
Inflatable doll
My role is to serve you
Disposable darling
Can..t throw you away now
Immortal and life size
My breath is inside you
I..ll dress you up daily
And keep you till death sighs
Inflatable doll
Lover ungrateful
I blew up your body
But you blew my mind

Oh Those Heartaches
Dreamhome Heartaches