I had a mild heart attack over the holidays. In an effort to fully prepare myself for reading and working Dave's book, I took a very close look at what I spent last year. And then I promptly had another bottle of wine to kill the pain. I do not consider myself a budget queen nor do I consider myself a heavy spender. Although the numbers said otherwise. I was shocked at how much I spent in entertainment, household groceries, eating out and clothes. This company called Kroger received a nice funding from me last year. What may surprise many of you, my clothing amount was the least amount. Now, on a high note, I did make a really nice dent in my student loans and contributed to my Health Savings Account. But other than that, my spending year resembled the economy- in the tank. I was in need of another glass of wine and a strong economic bailout program!
I read a statistic over the weekend that the average household spends 13.1% per month on food. Now, I spent 13.7% on groceries and another 8-10% on eating out- Per MONTH. That brings my total "food" expenditure to over 20%!!! Yes, are you having a heart attack with me???
So, as we begin the new year, I am looking forward to working on my economic bailout plan.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
1. How does consumerism play a role in "Thank You for Smoking" ?
I find it interesting that anyone reading the book is a potential consumer for the Tobacco Industry. Even though the entire theme of the book is critical and cynical about the business, I have to wonder how many smokers decided to quit the habit after they read the book. OR...did any non-smoking reader tried it just to see what it was like? Smoking, like any other legal habit, has the best marketing scheme out there because they can take the stance that any press is good press. It's why spin doctors exist. Nothing is 100% proven in regards to health and smoking and it has a badass appeal that "makes you look cool" or "keep you thin" or "feels good with a beer."
2. What does the statement "Tobacco takes care of it's own", mean to you? How does that theme play into the underlying theme of the book?
Growing up in a tobacco town.....this statement rang true every time. The whole foundation of Duke University started on tobacco money.......LOTS OF IT. I think the best part of the statement is the irony in it. Tobacco will take care of those in The Industry - those dudes have to stick together, but in the end, if you've given over to the smoky dark side of sucking on the cancer sticks......you'll "be taken care of."
3. Product placement is key in most films, books, etc. Think about all the different products you have seen in the last three movies. What were they? Did they reflect the views and trends of current societal standards?
After reading this book, I've started to notice product placement more and more. It reminds me of the scene in Wayne's World where they are touting Pepsi, Pizza Hut, Pringles and making fun of it. What amazed me with the book was the intricacies and the details that they get into for that kind of crap. What a waste of a lot of people's money and time. Remember back in the day, when TV shows used have the non-branded stuff that just said "Cereal" on the box or "Soda" on the can? Some marketing genius realized hey......we can make more money THIS way. And it works........humans can be such sheep.
I find it interesting that anyone reading the book is a potential consumer for the Tobacco Industry. Even though the entire theme of the book is critical and cynical about the business, I have to wonder how many smokers decided to quit the habit after they read the book. OR...did any non-smoking reader tried it just to see what it was like? Smoking, like any other legal habit, has the best marketing scheme out there because they can take the stance that any press is good press. It's why spin doctors exist. Nothing is 100% proven in regards to health and smoking and it has a badass appeal that "makes you look cool" or "keep you thin" or "feels good with a beer."
2. What does the statement "Tobacco takes care of it's own", mean to you? How does that theme play into the underlying theme of the book?
Growing up in a tobacco town.....this statement rang true every time. The whole foundation of Duke University started on tobacco money.......LOTS OF IT. I think the best part of the statement is the irony in it. Tobacco will take care of those in The Industry - those dudes have to stick together, but in the end, if you've given over to the smoky dark side of sucking on the cancer sticks......you'll "be taken care of."
3. Product placement is key in most films, books, etc. Think about all the different products you have seen in the last three movies. What were they? Did they reflect the views and trends of current societal standards?
After reading this book, I've started to notice product placement more and more. It reminds me of the scene in Wayne's World where they are touting Pepsi, Pizza Hut, Pringles and making fun of it. What amazed me with the book was the intricacies and the details that they get into for that kind of crap. What a waste of a lot of people's money and time. Remember back in the day, when TV shows used have the non-branded stuff that just said "Cereal" on the box or "Soda" on the can? Some marketing genius realized hey......we can make more money THIS way. And it works........humans can be such sheep.
The," Tobacco takes care of its own," statement is hilarious to me and I laughed every time it was said in the book. All I could picture was a grim reaper type character coming for all those jerks one day.
As far as product placement goes, I found myself feeling offended that marketing companies think so little of the average consumer in the sense that they KNOW they can product place and make millions like that based off of some research and their simple hope to sell. Then I remembered all the times I actually bought those products...sucker.
The role of the consumer is huge in the book, in real life for that matter. A product depends partially on its marketing team push but also on sales of the product. A sort of which comes first, chicken or the egg deal, which is more important? But consumerism plays a huge part in the book, even though the book is from an inside of the marketing of the product standpoint. The product can be marketed any way they want but if the consumer doesn't buy it, it's done.
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