Buying In - (Page xiii) buying in xiii defacing its own ads with what amounted to corporate graffiti. Toyota bankrolling underground club parties. And, of course, Red Bull sponsoring an obscure kiteboard expedition to a country that is subject to a strict U.S. trade embargo. And so on. The upshot is that while it’s true that traditional marketing always had its limits, murketing seems to have none at all. Thus we live in a world defined by more commercial messages, not fewer. But that’s only part of the story. The other half of what murketing means is found on the consumer side of the dialogue. Sure, we tell pollsters and friends that we’re sick of being bombarded with advertising, we’re indifferent to silly logos, we’re fed up with rampant materialism. If our behavior matched our rhetoric, it’s doubtful that the “Consumed” column could have lasted six months. In reality, one of the most significant changes I’ve observed over the years that consumer behavior has been my primary beat is something that goes well beyond the long-standing human tendency to enjoy acquiring things. This change is particularly noticeable among many of the younger people I’ve met and spent time with while reporting on things like Red Bull, or the unlikely resurgence of Pabst Blue Ribbon, or the launch of a new Toyota model that targeted members of Generation Y, among other subjects. Frequently, these smart and creative young people were quite happy to inform me that, yes, they were immune to commercial persuasion—that they saw through it, as the experts liked to say. Meanwhile, they were playing key, active roles in helping certain products and brands succeed. And what was more surprising, many of them were busily starting their own brands and making their own products. They were doing something new, but it wasn’t really about resisting and reject-
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