Exercise #3: Letter to a Friend
Dear Cecilia Reyes,
I am writing to you to because I recently read two essays, “Commodify Your Dissent” by Thomas Frank and “What’s in the Package” by Thomas Hine. Frank’s “Commodify Your Dissent”, brings into light the counterculture idea, one of many sales marketing topics companies use to market their product. Frank is trying to inform the reader of this tactic. Companies appeal to the consumer who wants to be a rebel, by being different and unique. In Hine’s “What’s in the Package” he goes on to explain that we are not buying what is in the package, but rather what is displayed on the packaging. The company is careful as to what they put on the package to appeal to their intended buyer, whether it is a person trying to get a good deal and buy the plain package or a buyer of a name brand they are familiar with. After reading these essays I realized that their competition and marketing techniques help stimulate jobs and by limiting the market or removing the way things are advertised might drastically job openings.
Jobs are stimulated by a variety of things especially advertising. Each company needs to hire an artist to design the package and men to distribute the package, and then the number of companies that sell the same product creates competition and jobs. This is where an artist or designer or someone who knows what is trending to be able to grab the intended audience’s attention on the package. The company could have any ordinary worker complete his job but companies would rather hire a profession person to do it and get quality and good results. This supports Hine’s thesis that the company focuses more on selling the package over the product. Frank noticed companies have convinced the consumer to purchase their product by making them believe they are being unique and different in doing so. The counterculture idea began in the 60’s when people no longer wanted to conform and be their own individual. Back then companies were marketing their products by telling the consumer they needed to conform or they would not be normal. Companies have to hire individuals to be able to attracted and appeal to that side of the consumer. The athlete who endorses the product, the writer who wrote the slogan, the artist who chose the colors, the graphic designer who made the advertisement, the shipping man who delivers the product. It is not just a package or a marketing technique, but a way to increase the amount of jobs available.
I read an article debating whether or not water bottles should be eliminated or not. Before making this decision we must look at the bigger future and future outcomes it will have. By eliminating them many people will lose their job and the way the economy is now it may not be easy. In a nut shell the two essays were a window to view the market as an endless possibility of jobs. Someone has to advertise the product, create the package, and deliver.
Sincerely,
Thomas Berumen