Are You Being Brainwashed? By Emily Krummel Are new advertising tactics good for America, or a way to brainwash Americans into buying things they don’t need.
In the world we live in there is no stronger force than advertisements. In this new world of advertising we are under increasing pressure to buy. Advertisements and displays now are geared to make you crave new things even if you don’t need them. People buy stuff not because it’s a necessity but because they are convinced that they must have it. Many commercial businesses only succeed as long as they understand what customers want. They realized that advertisements based on market research and theories of humans are more effective. To help achieve this, businesses hire advertisers. Advertisers not only sell the goods they are advertising but they also have a large effect on our opinions, our standards, our habits, and how we picture a good life. But many of these advertisements contain details that sound scientifc but really aren’t and they give some information regarding the product but not everything. Our decade’s new most dominant trend is to use psychology to appeal to the secret emotions that convince people to buy. They use experts to study human psychology to determine which messages are the most effective in getting people to
Buy. Psychological research suggests sales aren’t dependent on how much the product costs or the technological improvements of the product but more on status perception. Businesses have discovered that if they frequently change styles, they can get people to buy their products more often. This practice of releasing new styles has been extended to products that are supposed to last a long time and that we really shouldn’t need a new model of for a few years. Advertisers and businesses work together to try to convince consumers of the value of staying up-to-date. They convince us that if we don’t buy a certain product we will be doomed to social failure. One of the ways they do this is by having celebs endorse their products to make us think that if we buy and use the product then we can be like the celebrity. But are they really all bad? By 1925 70% of income for magazines and newspapers were from advertising revenue. The demand for advertisements has also created new jobs. There are now advertising agencies that are made up of a sophisticated team of high-paid specialists. They also help keep many businesses up and running. “Advertising and mass production are the twin cylinders that keep the motor of modern business in motion.” Kansas City Journal-Post. So what do you think? Are you being brainwashed? If anything this has made you more aware that they are trying to persuade you into buying something that you probably won’t need and maybe this will change the way you look at advertisements. What you take from this is up to you but just consider the information provided in this article the next time you see an advertisement for a product that you are considering buying.
A 1920 Bayer Aspirin Advertisement
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1920 Radio
Introduction: Radio and movies are helping the people both in information and entertainment. [add some lines about how the radio and movies are changing everyday life. Examples: Bringing news and entertainment to homes. Providing a new way for advertisers to sell their goods. Showing us life that we couldn’t see on our own]
ADVANTAGES • Stimulates the imagination It's cheap, handy and easy It does not necessarily need digital electrical power.
DISADVANTAGES • now it is time to give recognition to the famous inventor Italian Guglielmo Marconi managed to broadcast the first radio broadcast in 1900. The United States radio industry began in 1913 when US engineer Edwin Armstrong invented a special circuit that practiced long-distance radio transmission of voice and music.
You can not see just listening
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1920’s Movies
Foundations of the prolific film industry: The films really are expanding the foundations of the film of previous years. Most of the film production of the United States at the beginning of the decade occurred in or near the west coast of Hollywood, although some films were still being filmed in New Jersey and Astoria in Long Island (Paramount). By the mid-1920s, movies were big business (with a capital investment of more than $ 2 billion)
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Mass Productions affect on US Consumers Margaret Liu There’s also what’s popular, and everyone’s Did you know that ever since the end of WWI you have been cheated out of tons and tons of money?! That is because industries have invested in mass production causing all consumers to consume even more and more. Mass production is bad for America because it wastes materials, causes over consuming, and strongly affects laborers in a negative way. This all affects America's economy and should not be ignored or just looked over. Starting off, mass production is causing the waste of many materials. In fact, consumers are being encouraged to do just that. Many people might waste stuff on a daily basis, but the waste from mass production can really have a big effect. It is already causing irreplaceable natural resources to be eaten up very fast. One product could be used for only a month before you're encouraged to toss it out and use a different new product. It´s all about spending and not saving. It doesn't matter if the new recent product is necessary, you´ll still most likely get it. Why? Because, everywhere you go, it´s pressuring you and urging you. That leads into the problem of over consuming. So many products were made that consumers needed to speed through their original goods in order to use the newer version. You might be thinking that it's not that big of a deal, and instead you’d make sure to save and reuse. But it’s not that easy! Just going through a day without being pressured and encouraged to buy the product is impossible. There are ads everywhere! In the mail, magazines, newspapers, and more. These ads completely draw you in without knowing. Those “magical words” that immediately draw attention. Or emotions that basically force you to buy the product.
talking about it or using it. Sure enough, no one wants to be the odd one out who’s not caught up to go, or not contributing to America. So there you go heading off to the store, and soon enough you’ve got a brand new product in your hands. For example, think about your radio. Before purchasing it’s most likely that you just couldn’t wait to get your hands on it. First off, it was such a cool new invention. Adding on, the boxing championships and world series were being broadcasted. You sure didn’t want to miss that! So there it is, everyone buying product after product and the more the better. Mass production definitely affected consumers, but you probably haven’t thought of the effect on the producer. Mass production had started from the assembly line making it possible to produce more and save time. But the way that mass production works causes laborers to repeat the same boring job all day everyday. Imagine having to screw something every second for the whole day, repeating the same actions. That would definitely become very boring. In conclusion, mass production needs to be stopped and prohibited immediately! Do you want to continue losing money, wasting materials, over consuming, and boring laborers?! If we don’t stop mass production now, then soon producers will become rich and powerful, leaving consumers poor and controlled. If you don’t want that to happen then take action and stop being convinced into buying unnecessary products.
This picture above represents a mass production factory building cars. Products were made faster and of more quantity.
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Margaret Liu
The Radio Hear It All and Don’t Miss Out s
Buy!
Buy!
Buy!
What’ts the latest new?
s ue n e
p shi g n n i x io Bo amp CH
Election Results
Wor l Seri d es
V
Spend More and Save Less!
Stop letting your “saved” money sit around! Spend it now and buy the best new invention...the radio!
Buy Now For Only $75 and Receive Even More!
With the new radio you can not only learn of the election results but also of the boxing championships and much more! So don’t miss out and make sure to be caught up with the latest news! 7
Is Credit Really Good For Us? By: Ida Behnami Listen up America! We have been overbuying items we know we don’t need. Everyone thinks credit is great because we can get whatever we want at any time without having the money for it, but is it actually as great as we all think it is? There are many problems with credit, but we’re just too blind to figure it out. The first problem with credit is that Americans are overbuying products, because they now have a way to buy things without even having any money. Ever since there was an opportunity to buy items on credit, Americans have been buying things left and right. An outcome of this is people throwing away all of their “old” products in order to get the brand new versions, even if what they’ve had before has been working for them. Credit is just a way for businesses to corrupt you to make you buy things you know you don’t need. Due to our problem of overbuying, manufacturer's start to mass-produce items. Mass producing items is good, if you’re a business. Unfortunately for the rest of us, mass production is a way for manufacturers to make poorly made products and let businesses sell these cheaply made products to us. The cheapness of the mass produced products destroys the work of true craftsmanship, and the product will most likely not last as long. Credit was almost seen as an incentive through our eyes, but now it’s caused us to overbuy products and now it has caused mass production to happen to us.
Another problem, of many, about credit is credit debt. Credit debt occurs when the owner of the credit doesn’t pay off the money they have already spent. Credit debt follows people anywhere and everywhere they go, and causes major anxiety for the owner of the credit. Right now, the average American has doubled in debt because of credit. The fact that many businesses are persuading you to buy their products makes credit debt an even larger problem because you will buy more products and it will become even more difficult to pay off. To wrap things up, credit isn’t good for us, it’s only good for the big business guys and their manufacturers to persuade us into buying their products by “buying now and paying later” tactic. For us as the people, we should avoid credit at all costs, or else it will create even more problems for us that we currently don’t need.
Above is a picture of a factory with mass production. Credit caused products to be at a high demand, and the solution was to make lots of that product cheaply. 8
Weekly Cartoon February 2nd, 1927
By: Ida Behnami
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1920’s Consumerism and Leisure By By Irvin Terrones, Margaret Liu, Ida Behnami, and Emily Krummel Are you being cheated out of money and going into debt? Is consumerism going too far and out of control? This time of consumerism and leisure has completely skyrocketed, but yet is crashing down on consumers. It all started from what we thought were brilliant ideas, but then turned out to favor big businesses/producers and not the people. So how exactly did advertisements, mass production, movies and radios, and credit change our time of leisure and consumerism? Advertisements in the 1920s has immensely changed our lives. They are now made to make us want to buy things that we might not even need. One way they do this is by using psychological research to have a better appeal to consumers. Many advertisements don’t always tell the whole truth or phrase it in a way that makes it seem scientific but it really isn’t. Businesses have also started changing styles frequently so people will buy their products more often to stay up-to-date. Advertisements have an effect on our opinions, our standards, our habits, and how we picture a good life. Yes the demand for advertisements have created new jobs but does that mean much when you are being tricked into buying products that you might not even need. That leads into another factor, mass production. Now instead of trying to save and preserve products, you’re doing the exact opposite. Due to mass production so many new products are being made that there’s barely enough time to finish using one product before moving on to the next.
All you need to do is buy, buy, buy! That seems like the best deal right? But in reality products are being wasted, cash is flowing out uncontrollably, and soon enough everyone will be going into debt! So think twice. Is this really what mass production should be leading into? It’s true that products are being made faster and of more quantity. But the side effects are brutal towards consumers and our economy. Radio and movies are helping the people both in information and entertainment. The radio also helped the people of the 1920s to know who had won the presidential election and provided distractions for the kids while the mothers cleaned and did chores. A big disadvantage of radios is that because of their size and different parts it’s not easy to transport. The movies did not help americans, they distracted them from their chores and jobs. Also the movies were very expensive to go see.
This cartoon presents the mass production and credit issues
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1920’s Consumerism and Leisure By By Irvin Terrones, Margaret Liu, Ida Behnami, and Emily Krummel A problem that lead to mass-production is credit, and Americans are believing that credit is a great thing, but is it really? Credit is causing many Americans to overbuy products because of their “buy now and pay later” tactics. Due to the immense amount of overbuying, mass production began to take place which destroys true craftsmanship to create cheaper products to make an even bigger profit. Is this what we want? Cheap products that we are going to have to keep rebuying because those products aren’t lasting as long? As long as we keep using credit we’re going to rake up credit debt, which will follow you anywhere and everywhere you go. Credit has been creating a domino-effect of problems, and if we don’t stop now it will just create even more problems. Overall, these factors have all impacted our lives. Advertisements affect the decision on whether or not to buy and how we view what a good life should look like. Mass production has caused the excess flow of cash, debts, and waste of nonrenewable resources. Movies and radios have affected how we spend our free time and provided us with access to current news. That kind of information directs/leads consumers to buy certain products which relates to advertisement. Credit has been creating a domino-effect of problems for us. For instance, it was the cause of mass production, and Americans overbuying many products. So we need to take action now and stop all of this before further major damage is done!
An advertisement of the 1921 movie The Kid
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Bibliography Emily Krummel Lindop, Edmund, and Maragaret J Goldstein. American in the 1920s. Twenty-First Century Books, 2010. This Fabulous Century. Time-Life Books, 1987. USA Twenties . Vol. 1, Grolier, 2005. Savvy Consumer Source Pack Document C Savvy Consumer Source Pack Document B Hart, Diane, and Bert Bower. History Alive!: the United States through Industrialism. Teachers' Curriculum Institute, 2011. HO. “Aspirin's 100th.” AP Images, The Associated Press, United States, 5 Aug. 1997, classic.apimages.com/fronts/Default.aspx?sh=14. “Charlie Chaplin’s ‘The Kid’ Analysis.” Tesscetin, 30 Oct. 2013, tesscetin.wordpress.com/2013/10/30/charlie-chaplins-the-kid-analysis/. Margaret Liu: This Fabulous Century: 1920-1930. Time-Life Books, 1991. Savvy Consumer Source Pack Document A Savvy Consumer Source Pack Document B This Fabulous Century: 1920-1930. Time-Life Books, 1991. ASSOCIATED PRESS Ida Behnami Hart, Diane, and Bert Bower. History Alive!: the United States through Industrialism. Teachers' Curriculum Institute, 2011. “The Consumer Economy and Mass Entertainment.” Digital History, www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3396. Holstein, William K., and Morris Tanenbaum. “Mass Production.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 30 Dec. 2016, www.britannica.com/technology/mass-production. Williams, Harvey. 1920's Advertising-Cushing. Vol. 1, ser. 33218106024382. Yancey, Diane. Life during the Roaring Twenties. Lucent Books, 2002. “Consumerism in the 1920's.” Post Landfill, www.postlandfill.org/origins-consumerism-get/. Irvin Hill, Laban Carrick. Harlem Stomp!: a Cultural History of the Harlem Renaissance. Little, Brown, 2009. O'Neal, Michael. America in the 1920s. Facts On File, 2006. 12