It's me, the New Year, and I'm here to collect on your resolutions.
New York Times writer Stuart Elliot wrote, "Every January, Madison Avenue gets into the betterment business, unleashing a flood of advertising that seeks to take advantage of the impulses among consumers at the start of a new year to improve themselves."
January, in my opinion, is the month where you are rewarded for having a bad habit and wanting to change it. It does nothing for those people who prevent that bad habit from controlling them every day of the year. For example, I like staying physically active, so when I was offered a corporate deal for the gym at my new job, I immediately signed up without shopping around for deals. The gym was important to me and so I invested in it. However, if I were lazy and didn't join a gym, yet got the urge to do so in January - when the resolution guilt month rolled around - I could have joined one of the MANY gyms now offering a reduced rate and no joining fee. THAT hardly seems fair. Coupons are abundant for the unmotivated this month.
January is also the month that reminds you that your habit is indeed a BAD habit. For example, have you noticed that nicorette is suddenly more interested in speaking to you? Or how Jenny Craig's spokescelebrities are popping up all over your morning shows? It's not a coincidence.
And finally January is the month that reminds you that your life COULD and SHOULD be better. The Lottery has introduced their "fat wallet" campaign just in time for people to start reevaluating their lives. Bus stop ads call out for people to "Get rich. Get FAT." This message clearly plays into the new year's resolution mentality and draws poor fools into stores to waste $10 on an instant win card with dreams of a brighter tomorrow. Sorry buddy, now your financial problems are even more problematic since you through away an amount equal to a month's worth of dinner or two round trips to and from work on the subway.
I am all for the advertising industry. It's my passion and a necessity in consumer America. However, ads the appeal to the weak-willed new year's resolution makers are borderline cruel. It's like taking candy from a baby or handing drugs to an addict. January should be redesigned by Madison Ave. It should be a month for them to showcase their resolutions... show the world how they aim to make it a truly better place. January should be about CSR and social responsibility, about Probono work.
Just as ridding the world of valentine's day may bring about true love every day of the week, ridding the world of new year's resolution advertisements for pills, gyms, self-help books, etc. may decrease those bad habits. Without a time of the year dedicated to changing your life, any day of the week may be good enough for a change. Imagine the possibilities.
No comments:
Post a Comment