Commercials are funny; they tell you that if you give PRODUCT X, the recipient will love and cherish not only you — but that moment for the rest of their life. In reality, if I received an expensive diamond or and white SUV wrapped in a bow, I would strike down my loved one with a righteous and furious anger: “WE’RE IN AN ECONOMIC DOWNTURN, OH MY GO- .”
While some of this is in jest, what is more wasteful — a surprise, expensive diamond or an SUV? Are diamonds really just commodities like orange juice and bacon or are they special since they traditionally mark special events? Do you ever see an ad and think to yourself, “If I got that I would be ______.”?
Though I don’t know the details, I’ve heard that diamonds, slavery, and African exploitation are all connected — all in the name of shiny. Yes, I believe that there are some places that don’t have the luxury of choosing good jobs or bad jobs, but the product just holds no value for me. (See also Wilmington NC real estate.) An SUV, while loathsome and expensive, is useful. I could use it as storage or drive around cutting people off. I could tow trucks and park really badly at Home Depot. It’s has some utility and value. Rocks is rocks. With an SUV, I could haul a bunch of them (kinda) And yes, Ron Popeil would sell diamonds if he could.
Tags: Bacon, Bad Jobs, Commercials, Commodities, Diamond, Diamonds, Economic Downturn, funny, Furious Anger, Home Depot, Jest, Orange Juice, Product X, Recipient, Red Ribbon, Rocks, Ron Popeil, sex, Storage, Surprise, Trucks, Wilmington Nc Real Estate
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What amazes me is the extreme lengths to which the concept “sex sells” have been taken.
I mean does the lady on CNN telling me that the world is falling apart, or that I am about to washed away in a global warming induced flood, really need to be showing cleavage and wearing copious quantities of I want to blow you red liptsick? Fox news is the worst. On their morning show they make it a point to have some dingy bleach blond–and no I don’t think all blonds are dumb–who wears mini-skirts everyday. In addition, they also make sure that the camera crew positions the cameras so that the viewers expect a snatch shot at any second.
Don’t get me wrong. I love women–especially really hot, sexy and seductive ones who now how to dress well, but there is a time and place for everything.
I think this idea of selling everything with sex only works in a society that is repressed and closed minded when it comes to the topic of sex. I mean here in Europe it is not unusual to see complete nudity on network tv, but the kids still act like kids, and there is none of the Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan, or Paris Hilton nonsense that is so prevalent in America. In fact, my wife and I were talking about this the topic the other day, and we came to the conclusion that the kids over here are actually more “innocent” than the ones are in America. For instance, you don’t see any eight year old girls wearing thongs and dressed like prostitutes, and the kids seem to actually enjoy being kids and aren’t as anxious to become adults.
Finally, from what I have read the movie, “Blood Diamond” paints a pretty accurate picture of the global diamond market. I remember Bill Maher talking about how he told some women in Los Angeles, that a little kid probably lost a hand mining her three carrot pink diamond engagement ring, and she responded, “well as long as he only lost one hand it is ok.” The gold market isn’t much better either, though it is generally just destructive from an environmental standpoint. I guess we should all do what Dave Mathews and his wife did when they were married. They had two pennies–one from each of their respective years of birth–melted down and turned into wedding rings.
We have the De Beers marketing machine to thank for our need to purchase diamonds as a symbol of love and devotion. And you know? The older I get? The more I would rather have new carpet, or a new dishwasher, or new paint, to spruce up my house rather than a diamond ring.
But, of course, diamonds do last longer than washing machines. So, there is that.
Coal Miner’s Granddaughters last blog post..Nicknames