So how do we know what's real?
If people are rewording everyday phrases to boast nicer-sounding connotations, and propagandists are creating scenarios to convince us of their latest ideas and concepts, then shouldn't we be skeptical of every message we read or see on television or hear on the radio? The Persuaders suggests that these marketing messages sometimes begin to control us. In the film, Rushkoff calls the constant surrounding of advertisements "clutter." The film goes on to address that after a long
time of being exposed to certain types of advertisements, sometimes people begin to experience what is referred to as "loyalty beyond reason." This is visible in the iPod craze--people love iPods. But who loves mp3 players? An iPod is, in fact, an mp3 player, but Apple has done so well in marketing the iPod as, well, an iPod that no one in America refers to it as anything but its brand name. An mp3 player almost holds a negative connotation; no one wants a knockoff.
If people are rewording everyday phrases to boast nicer-sounding connotations, and propagandists are creating scenarios to convince us of their latest ideas and concepts, then shouldn't we be skeptical of every message we read or see on television or hear on the radio? The Persuaders suggests that these marketing messages sometimes begin to control us. In the film, Rushkoff calls the constant surrounding of advertisements "clutter." The film goes on to address that after a long
time of being exposed to certain types of advertisements, sometimes people begin to experience what is referred to as "loyalty beyond reason." This is visible in the iPod craze--people love iPods. But who loves mp3 players? An iPod is, in fact, an mp3 player, but Apple has done so well in marketing the iPod as, well, an iPod that no one in America refers to it as anything but its brand name. An mp3 player almost holds a negative connotation; no one wants a knockoff.This loyalty beyond reason is also apparent in the current situation with student loan provider Sallie Mae. For a long time, Sallie Mae was the only loan company that college students used. The website is quick and easy to use. Who knew of any other rational options? When I entered Kut
ztown University, I signed up for my loans through Sallie Mae. I knew that there were other companies that offered loans, and I visited their websites briefly, but none of them seemed credible. There's no good reason as to why not, of course, other than Sallie Mae was the only loan company that advertised. Not to mention everyone I knew used Sallie Mae--my brothers, their friends, my friends that were already in college, and so on. Talk about loyalty beyond reason. Sallie Mae wasn't attractive or sleek, like an iPod. They didn't advertise dancing, joyous students. Sallie Mae advertised.
ztown University, I signed up for my loans through Sallie Mae. I knew that there were other companies that offered loans, and I visited their websites briefly, but none of them seemed credible. There's no good reason as to why not, of course, other than Sallie Mae was the only loan company that advertised. Not to mention everyone I knew used Sallie Mae--my brothers, their friends, my friends that were already in college, and so on. Talk about loyalty beyond reason. Sallie Mae wasn't attractive or sleek, like an iPod. They didn't advertise dancing, joyous students. Sallie Mae advertised.In the past couple of years, though, Sallie Mae has been hit with various lawsuits for fluctuating interest rates that aren't supposed to fluctuate, making it impossible to consolidate loans that were supposed to be easy to consolidate, forcing colleges to hand over personal information about students in order to track them down easily, and the list goes on. As soon as Sallie Mae's bad publicity was out, a group of seemingly new loan companies emerged out of thin air, advertising everywhere. These companies include ThinkFinancial, Astrive, and NextStudent. But has Sallie Mae's student loan monopoly ended?
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