The purpose of the Progression 1 was to introduce the student, in this case me, with an idea and reconstruct it. By reconstructing it I was able to develop my own opinion on the idea. In this case i read an essay by Thomas Frank called “Commodify Your Dissent”. In this essay he explains how consumerism has changed their approach for marketing products and the consumer buys items that appeal to the counterculture idea. From this idea I saw that each package is created by the hands of many workers and how much time/effort is put into each individual package. Exercise #1 is a reconstruction of Thomas Frank's purpose in his essay and very brief. This reconstruction helped me better understand the purpose of the essay. Exercise #2 was a letter to Thomas Frank in which my opinion was expressed and introduced the message i interrupted from his essay. In this letter I also comment on his opinion as it is one of many different tactics companies use to market their products. Exercise #3 was a letter to a friend in which I shared my opinion with a person who has no prior knowledge of Frank’s essay. This progression helped me fully understand Thomas Frank’s essay and develop my own thesis in Essay #2.
Progression 1 with Exercises
Click on each exercise below to reveal more text
Essay #2: "100 in 1"
Walking into the super market we are exposed to thousands upon thousands of packages. These packages are more than just a wrapper or a box, it is a masterpiece. An item created by the hands of many and without those people, the consumer will never be able to have that package. We buy things that attract either our style or eyes. These isles are filled with masterpieces that consumers do truly appreciate and ultimately help make our decisions. The effort and number of people who create and market these products are of grave importance and play an important role in the economy. We don’t give credit or realize that a numerous amount of people, help in the effort of creating a package.
The main purpose of an ad is to grab the viewer’s attention in order to sell and promote the product. In Thomas Hine’s essay “What’s in the Package”, he says “…packaging is the crucial final payoff to a marketing campaign”, by buying we help those hundreds of workers who contributed to creating that package. No one wants to be job hunting or feel unable to provide for themselves or others. Making a package gives thousands of people work to earn a buck. According to an article on the website wikiHow.com there is three main steps in creating an advertisement. The first step in creating an advertisement is to “Write an Ad”, think of titles and slogans that will grab the viewer’s attention. In order for a company to grab the attention of a certain group of individuals, it would be in the companies’ interest to hire somebody who has knowledge about today’s trends and the consumer’s behavior. Having insight of outside events makes the ad or label more appealing to a desired audience. This alone creates one type of job but, having more people with insight would increase the effectiveness of the advertisement. Multiply this by the variety of package styles and colors available creates a vast number of job positions that we don’t really think about.
The main purpose of an ad is to grab the viewer’s attention in order to sell and promote the product. In Thomas Hine’s essay “What’s in the Package”, he says “…packaging is the crucial final payoff to a marketing campaign”, by buying we help those hundreds of workers who contributed to creating that package. No one wants to be job hunting or feel unable to provide for themselves or others. Making a package gives thousands of people work to earn a buck. According to an article on the website wikiHow.com there is three main steps in creating an advertisement. The first step in creating an advertisement is to “Write an Ad”, think of titles and slogans that will grab the viewer’s attention. In order for a company to grab the attention of a certain group of individuals, it would be in the companies’ interest to hire somebody who has knowledge about today’s trends and the consumer’s behavior. Having insight of outside events makes the ad or label more appealing to a desired audience. This alone creates one type of job but, having more people with insight would increase the effectiveness of the advertisement. Multiply this by the variety of package styles and colors available creates a vast number of job positions that we don’t really think about.
Some may argue that with packing creates waste that is harmful to the environment. On most item, from automobiles to plastic can be recycled. The state of California makes an effort to recycle materials to reduce the waste. In my community and the ones around me, each resident has access to an area where materials can be recycled. According to the U.S. Recycling Economic Information Study over 56,000 recycling centers exist and over 1 million people are employed in these establishments. Most containers contain the same type of packaging such as cardboard, plastic, aluminum or glass and are easily recyclable. Nothing is wasted in a package because no idea is created without each part having a full purpose from shelf to recycling center.
These jobs created by packages go unnoticed as people work to create a masterpiece. The second step says to “Design an Ad”, that is memorable, distinguishable, and creative. Anyone can come up with an idea that is memorable but the top companies are going to want a group of people to pitch the best ideas. Companies and Organizations are going to want to hire people that know what they are doing and possess creative skills to come up with the best package they can for their audience. Big corporations spend millions on marketing the package and a good amount of that money is distributed down the tree to the people who each contribute to the jigsaw puzzle create a package that sells. Even if the package is generic, its intended audience is people with a budget. But no matter the audience, it takes a number of people to design it, deliver it and create the necessary parts for the package.
These jobs created by packages go unnoticed as people work to create a masterpiece. The second step says to “Design an Ad”, that is memorable, distinguishable, and creative. Anyone can come up with an idea that is memorable but the top companies are going to want a group of people to pitch the best ideas. Companies and Organizations are going to want to hire people that know what they are doing and possess creative skills to come up with the best package they can for their audience. Big corporations spend millions on marketing the package and a good amount of that money is distributed down the tree to the people who each contribute to the jigsaw puzzle create a package that sells. Even if the package is generic, its intended audience is people with a budget. But no matter the audience, it takes a number of people to design it, deliver it and create the necessary parts for the package.
My cousin Fred is part of this cycle, he works for UPS (United Parcel Service). He makes a living by helping deliver packages where they need to go. Fred’s job may not be the most important like the people who contribute to designing the package but he delivers their work. The UPS website says “Every day, we manage the flow of goods, funds, and information in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide”, providing for so many places makes it and other shipping companies an important step in production. UPS provides a lot of jobs for people. Fred and thousands of other people help deliver the packages where they need to go. If the amount of packages that need to be sent decreases he will lose work hours or if it reaches a low enough level his job. If we think of the economy as a machine and we were to remove a gear it would ruin the rest of the machine. Despite what some people think that advertising is bad and only for the companies to make the big bucks it helps give a job to millions of people and keep our unemployment rate low. If we were to remove the gear that involves the process of designing products we would lose a part of the economy that we cannot afford to. The machine would remove the gear that helps millions of people have a job and chances are it would be someone we know.
There was an editorial in the New York Times called “In Praise of Tap Water”, there is a group of people that want to eliminate the water bottle to save plastic and help go green. The last line in the editorial says “The real change, though will come when millions of ordinary consumers realize that they can save money, and save the planet, by turning in their water bottles and turning on the tap,” it appears to be a good idea but comes with a high cost. Walking in to a super market there is a variety of different kinds of water bottles to choose from. Each type of water comes from a different source around the country and world. The benefit of having jobs inside the country prevents outsourcing and gives Americans an opportunity to earn a paycheck. There is a lot of people who would become unemployed by discontinuing water bottles. Some of these people would include individuals that recycle the bottles. Although it may seem that water being put in bottle is an easy task it actually isn’t. There are a lot of people at work, from taking care of the factory that produces the water bottles, managing the business, distributing the bottles, creating the advertisements about the brand, and even the companies that sell the materials to make water bottles will lose a profit. If that companies or industry loses money it will make cutbacks and the first thing that usually goes is work time for the employees and if money gets tight enough those people will be out of a job.
It is not just a package that we buy; it is helping millions have a job and keeps the factory going. It is a hundred jobs that create a one huge beautiful masterpiece that we get to enjoy just about everywhere we go.
It is not just a package that we buy; it is helping millions have a job and keeps the factory going. It is a hundred jobs that create a one huge beautiful masterpiece that we get to enjoy just about everywhere we go.
Work Cited
Beck, R.W. “U.S Recycling Economic Information Study” National Recycling Coalition, July 2001. Web. 5 December 2012.
Hine, Thomas. “What’s in the Package?” Signs of Life in the USA. Ed. Maasik, Sonia. Solomon, Jack. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 118-127. Print.
“Create an Advertisement” WikiHow. 2012. Web. 12 September 2012.
“In Praise of Tap Water.” The New York Times 1 August 2007. Print
UPS. 2012. Web. 23 September 2012.
Beck, R.W. “U.S Recycling Economic Information Study” National Recycling Coalition, July 2001. Web. 5 December 2012.
Hine, Thomas. “What’s in the Package?” Signs of Life in the USA. Ed. Maasik, Sonia. Solomon, Jack. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 118-127. Print.
“Create an Advertisement” WikiHow. 2012. Web. 12 September 2012.
“In Praise of Tap Water.” The New York Times 1 August 2007. Print
UPS. 2012. Web. 23 September 2012.