Nichole talked about the phrase "People don't know what they want, they only know what they know." She asked if any other examples of where marketers have shaped consumer wants and needs.
The first thing that came to mind is infomercials. Ads for things like Sham-Wow, Oxyclean and all those other products. They go as far as to demonstrate their product to prove it's worthiness and usefulness to you and your family. After seeing the infomercial, you'll wonder how you ever lived without this glorious product in your life.
Once you get it home, it's a whole other story. You've already shelled out at least one payment of $19.95, plus shipping and handling. Maybe you even got your order doubled because you called in the next 10 minutes. So now you have not one, but two, terrible products in your possession.
The best way to prevent this scenario from happening is to check out consumer reports or reviews. Marketers have the job of making us want something and want it enough to buy it. You can't sell a product if you say that it's only effective for a few uses, or it chews through batteries or whatever other downfall it may have. That being said, it doesn't make it right to sell a shoddily made product, under the guise that it is well made. Since that's more of a moral obligation than anything else, there most likely won't be a movement in honesty and product integrity.
What are some of your experiences with products vs. the advertised product? Ever bought something that was nothing like what you were lead to believe?
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