Needs or Just Wants?

There have been many cases where I purchased something because someone else had it. I don’t know about you but I love it when I have the same thing as someone famous. It just makes that object feel like I have some special bond with them.

Constantly looking on many social media platforms, sponsored ad posts constantly pop up on my feed. I and many viewers are reeled into the company’s trap. Advertisement and marketing play a huge role into hooking the viewers into thinking that they need the product but in real life can life without it. “The Hollywood film industry, television, satellite broadcasting technologies, the internet, … and other media forms and technologies have transformed culture into a pivotal force in “shaping human meaning and behaviors and regulate(ing) our social practices at every turn” (Hall 232). With popularized platforms along with a person’s ideologies, wants can immediately change into needs.

        Anyone and everyone have a social media account. If they don’t then they have been living under a rock for the past decade. Social media has become such a norm to one’s life that trying to not go on social media for an hour is so called impossible. Now a days, influencers and creators on the platform can make a living by creating content. It is an arena where creativity is at its full bloom. However only uploading creative content cannot be the only way that these people can make a life income. True money comes from sponsored ads that major corporations have paid the creators to create and post. My favorite YouTubers are Jenn Im, Weylie, Sophia Chang, Amy Lee and Claire Marshal. (Asian represent!) As a devout viewer, I always notice that at least one out of ten videos consisted of content that was with a collaboration with a company who sponsored them. It’s tagged with the hashtag ad but despite the pre-notice that the YouTubers give, views are always there.  Not one of my favorite videos to watch because it doesn’t showcase natural lifestyle but I still watch them because it’s them. And always at the end of the video I contemplate if it’s something I need.  “Mass produced images fill our daily lives and conditions our most intimate perceptions and desires” (Giroux 255). Making a mark on influencers and using the reputation and effect they have on people to promote causes sale and popularity rates to increase. Giroux states that with constant exposure to the advertisements, then the way one sees the product can flip the person’s desire to buy it.  One example is a brand called HelloFresh. HelloFresh is a meal delivery service where prepackaged and pre-measured ingredients are shipped to one’s door for a perfect simple meal plan. Though multiple showcased sponsorship with many YouTubers, HelloFresh was able to receive the popularity and daily subscriptions. Not only receiving high praises from the YouTubers who implemented that to their daily eating, they chose the right platform to advertise their brand. “The immediate mission is to sell goods; the long-range mission is to maintain the class system. In order to sell goods, advertising has to change attitudes, lifestyles, customs, habits, and preferences while at the same time maintaining the economic system that benefits from these changes” (Berger 52). This quote from an article called Marxist Analysis shows that advertising innovated, not to just showcasing the product onto a billboard, by integrating it to one’s life to see how much they can use it an everyday lifestyle. Exactly how the companies are using YouTube as an environment to change their ways of advertisement to receive more attention. Not only YouTubers but also uprising stars have made their mark into the advertising realm.

        In this century, K-pop is now becoming a world phenomenon. Starting small from a tiny peninsula in the Asian region, it has exploded globally through the increasing numbers of global fans. Now that K-pop has become a revolution across the world, K-pop merchandise has skyrocketed. One very popular example would be a group called BTS. BTS has become the first Korean group to ever hit the US in such massive power. Appearing on the Grammy Awards, James Corden Show, the Ellen Show, this group is marking their fame globally. Now being the hottest topic of the world, they took that heat to another level. Collaborating with one of the popular Korean messaging company, Line, BTS drew their own cartoons representing themselves. The pictures turned into keychains, pillows, and collectables that fans could buy as a representation of their favorite member and of the group. One of the many pop up stores was located in the heart of Hollywood. From what I heard, the line for the opening day wrapped around multiple blocks. Die heart fans dedicate their time and money for obtain precious merchandise. Sold out online and in-store. There seems to be a reason why the Korean entertainment labels famous celebrities as “idols”. Because BTS is a group with a huge fan base, more people gravitate towards the merchandise by adding it in their cart and pulling the trigger. It is an illusion of need disguising as a want. Blinded by love, a person’s consciousness is barricaded with the idea of them. It is the false ideologies and beliefs that by receiving these items would bring never ending love. From Ideology by Williams, the way we live in the social aspect of life gives certain things of value and of meaning to us. The meaning behind this is that based on the reality that we are living in, value in certain things change. Fans have incorporated BTS into their lives because of the heat of their emotions. That heat then has transferred into their overall thinking, correlated to the wants of having merchandise created by them. Not only BTS but in the Korean media industry of the entertainment system. Showcasing idols in the visible platform, viewing rates would drastically increase. Despite what the content is, whether it’s daily or entertainment, I always notice on Instagram what clothing they wore, where their bag is from, and even the brand of their phone cases if displayed. As K-pop has obtained the spotlight, some extreme fans would do anything in their power to get branded products or even on the more extreme side, become like them. Our overall significance about anything in the world can then be our actions that change the world and how we see the world. With the help of advertisement in the K-pop industry, significance in these merchandises can change viewpoints of a person. Before K-pop has become such a booming topic, a popular company has captivated the hearts of many ever since the beginning; Disney.

        Disney has the reputation of innocence, magic and imagination all in one. With the image of being the happiest place on earth, Disney has captured many hearts young and old. Innocence of a child is used to grab their attention and have them want the next Elsa doll after watching Frozen. The desire of having the doll brings a smile onto their face and the parents would want nothing to stop that from disappearing. “A 130 billion dollar a year advertising industry, which not only sells its products but also values, images, and identities that are largely aimed at teaching your people to be consumers” (Giroux 254). The massive influence that Disney has on kids has become a great power in advertisement. Despite the age of a person, the fact of wanting and buying a product has caused them to be part of the business industry. Giroux states that the transaction of cash flow has given anyone the opportunity to partake as a consumer. As their industry has been very active in the entertainment production, Disney’s advertisement and overall control of the media is just as overpowering. Attentive with how and what the customer wants, Disney holds the power to reconstruct a person’s demand.

        The power of the media and entertainment has molded the interest of many people. Idolizing groups like K-pop, people from social media has caused the desire of wants into the desire of needs. No matter what the content of the advertisement is, if it grabs the customer’s attention, then their job is done. This world’s a scary place that knows how to control a person’s perception.