I don't usually get aggravated enough by advertising to feel the need to blog about it but the Best Buy slogan the last few months really has me fired up. You might disagree with what I am about to say but I'm going for it anyway.
You, Happier.
The insinuation is that if you buy the stuff at their store you will be happier. Now, I know that is the premise behind all advertising. If you buy x, y, z you will have an infinitely happier, sexier, funnier, easier, more enjoyable , fill-in-the-blank, life. Apparently it is pretty successful for marketing. But, as I tell my girls all the time, that is an advertiser's job - to convince you to buy what you don't need with what you don't have.
I also know that retailers are hurting along with the rest of the economy right now. I'm sure they are pulling in a few notches on their belts too and doing what they can to bring more buyers into their stores. But this slogan is over the top.
My issue with this advertising campaign is how it perpetuates the notion that stuff buys you happiness. That is a patently false lie and completely out of place anytime but especially so in the current economic situation. Nothing can buy happiness. There are no stores that sell it, no manufacturers that make it, no potions that create it. Happiness does not reside in the consumption of stuff. Happiness is an emotion, temporal, fleeting, and dependent on circumstances. There are a lot of very unhappy wealthy people out there. As Americans we think we have a right to happiness but the Declaration of Independence only established our right to pursue it, it did not guarantee it. Our pursuit of that temporal idea has gotten us into some mighty fine messes. As we remain in pursuit of that temporal feeling we get ourselves deeper and deeper into trouble.
I think what people are really after is something completely different and found in a very different place than an Electronics Store.
I propose a different point of view. Me, Joyful.
JOY is unaffected by circumstances and is a view of life derived from an abiding faith in the One who has the whole world in his hands. We have joy when we trust in Him, the One True God, unchangeable and trustworthy. Galatians 5:22 tells us it one of the fruits of the Spirit, along with love, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and faithfulness. Joy can be present in the midst of great suffering. Happiness is often not. Peace and Joy. These are feelings that everyone wants and God freely gives to those who love and trust in Him.
So, I'm sorry Best Buy - I'm not buying your faulty reasoning. I can be joyful, even happy, without the help of your stuff.
I also know that retailers are hurting along with the rest of the economy right now. I'm sure they are pulling in a few notches on their belts too and doing what they can to bring more buyers into their stores. But this slogan is over the top.
My issue with this advertising campaign is how it perpetuates the notion that stuff buys you happiness. That is a patently false lie and completely out of place anytime but especially so in the current economic situation. Nothing can buy happiness. There are no stores that sell it, no manufacturers that make it, no potions that create it. Happiness does not reside in the consumption of stuff. Happiness is an emotion, temporal, fleeting, and dependent on circumstances. There are a lot of very unhappy wealthy people out there. As Americans we think we have a right to happiness but the Declaration of Independence only established our right to pursue it, it did not guarantee it. Our pursuit of that temporal idea has gotten us into some mighty fine messes. As we remain in pursuit of that temporal feeling we get ourselves deeper and deeper into trouble.
I think what people are really after is something completely different and found in a very different place than an Electronics Store.
I propose a different point of view. Me, Joyful.
JOY is unaffected by circumstances and is a view of life derived from an abiding faith in the One who has the whole world in his hands. We have joy when we trust in Him, the One True God, unchangeable and trustworthy. Galatians 5:22 tells us it one of the fruits of the Spirit, along with love, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and faithfulness. Joy can be present in the midst of great suffering. Happiness is often not. Peace and Joy. These are feelings that everyone wants and God freely gives to those who love and trust in Him.
So, I'm sorry Best Buy - I'm not buying your faulty reasoning. I can be joyful, even happy, without the help of your stuff.
3 comments:
I agree... but it is SO in line with our country's way of thinking. Materialism is such a rampant problem here. Good bloggin'!
It's interesting how Mastercard has taken the opposite approach - they list all the things that are "priceless" but remind you that they are there for "everything else."
Well said my friend!
You tell 'em!! (:
Post a Comment