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When I used to play football at school, I used to see other people wear expensive football boots - the ones that the professionals wore - and think about how good I would be if I had them. I thought that wearing these boots would instantly make me a better player.
This showed that I had been influenced by these boot manufacturers marketing campaigns. Also, I was at an age when I didn’t have the ability to think about whether or not these boots would actually make me a better player. The Reason These manufactures realised that making a good football boot was one part of the equation; the other part was to find a way to make people spend a small fortune on them. The best way to do this is to pay professional athletes lots of money to wear them, and then to convince people that they are only as good as they are due to the boots that they are wearing. What is at work here is the power of association. It is then not that these players can do what they do because of their natural talent and how much work they put it; no, it’s the result what they put on their feet. The Same Approach Now, it is unlikely that an adult would fall for this; they would be only too aware of why someone is a good athlete. However, it wouldn’t be right to say that it is only children who are taken advantage of by different corporations, for instance. One only needs to look at the kinds of adverts that are on the internet or on TV to realise that these corporations are trying to influence people of all ages. It might be more subtle when it is aimed at adults, but the same process is still going on. A Different Need To use the example above: when football boots are aimed at children, the focus will be on how much better they will be and how good they will look in them. Yet, when it comes to selling something to an adult, the focus could be on how much happier they will be and on the approval they will receive if they buy it. Another thing that the advert could focus on is how much more desirable they will be to the opposite sex. What is being sold is then secondary and what is associated with the product ends up taking centre stage. Two Parts It would be easy to see the average person as a victim and these corporations as the perpetrators, but this wouldn’t be the compete truth. What is going to make it harder for someone to see what is going on or not to be drawn in by an advert, is if they are having a certain inner experience. For example, if someone feels empty and is out of touch with their own nurturing aspect, they can end up looking externally for a way to feel whole. It is then not going to be difficult for them to come into contact with things that will promise to do just that – to make them feel whole. Final Thoughts With this in mind, the more together someone is the harder it will be to sell them things that they don’t need. Through feeling whole, they will have the ability to see something for what it actually is and to ask themselves if they actually need it. This will stop them from getting caught up in all the features that have been attached to something but have absolutely nothing to do with it; to see beyond the illusion that has been created.
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Oliver JR Cooper http://www.oliverjrcooper.co.uk
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 Oliver JR CooperAuthor, Transformational Writer, Teacher & Consultant. Disclaimer
That which is contained within these articles is based on my own empirical understanding and is true for me at the time they were written. However, as I continue to grow, what I perceive as the truth will inevitably change and as a result of this - parts of these articles may not reflect my current outlook.
My Books...
Self-Love - How To Develop Self-Love And Self-Worth
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