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Nowadays marketing is linked with pejorative definition, for many critics it is related with an hedonistic lifestyle. Hedonism is a philosophy an ethical system that evaluates the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good. In this article hedonism and marketing are related with materialism which can be defined as the pursuit of gathering as many material goods as possible in order to achieve happiness. This article underlines connection between the consumer society, hedonism, and the lace of marketing being responsible or not for unethical behavior among consumers.
The charge: A Hedonistic Society attributable to consumer marketing Modern marketing is charged to have an influence on consumer’s society by changing it on a hedonistic society it is a degenerate influence especially by claiming that goods acquisition and consumerism is the core of today’s society. In fact this argument is based on how our societies were built, in the first instance, with orthodox values regarding monotheist religions. So that materialism is seen as being against spiritual and moral values.
Yet the term “Marketing” is used by its detractors as a philosophy encouraging deprivation and they neglect to consider what Marketing is all about, meanings: 1 . Identifying actual/potential wants within a market or markets; segmenting the market into want categories and selecting market segments suited to the firm’s thrust and core competencies; 2. Determining the offering to match the want of each segment selected; 3. Making the offering available; 4. Informing and persuading those within the market segment or segments to buy or rebury; 5. Deciding on a continuous basis what offerings to add, subtract, modify and upgrade; and 6.
Cooperating with others to secure resources and support marketing plans. Indeed marketing is seen as a link with hedonism and as having been created by the power of structures to maintain dominance with the help of mass media. Hedonism Definition Hedonism comes from the word hoodooed, which means pleasure, enjoyment or delight in ancient Greek. There are several meanings: Psychological Hedonism: pleasure is fundamental and all motivation is based on. Ethical Hedonism: What we ought to ruse in life (pleasure). Universal Hedonism: the search for pleasure for everybody.
Rationalizing Hedonism: rank the pursuit of pursuit by defining the foundation of Marketing the Consumer Society and Hedonism By koruna’s characterizes Hedonism by being selfish on looking for pleasure with the implicit idea of excess. But there is a distinction to add between pleasure-seeking and satisfaction-seeking (Campbell) which are the two components of hedonism (pleasure seeking is the only one used by common language), he also argued that pleasure- seeking may be driven by idealistic commitment. In fact words like hedonism and consumerism have become controversial words used today to criticize societies’ social issues.
Hedonism and Consumerism As argued before marketing is blamed for social consequences by stimulating consumption for critics it is even though a culture of consumption that we are facing up. Accumulation and display of material possessions Yes there is an accumulation of possessions nowadays but it’s a consequence of wealth and it has been always existed through the ages. Marketing is here to facilitate the choice of consumer on choosing what kind of goods will be good for hem. Satisfying transitory appetites and created wants It is right that pleasures emotions tend to be short-lived.
In a democratic society no one could argue and deny the fact that people have the right to choose for themselves. The charge is against advertising, critics argue that it created wants. But wants are latent and ad is activated by promotion. Seeking positional goods for social status and social bonding In the consumer society the accumulation of goods is effective to give life a meaning, it is a hedonistic pleasure to maintain a sense of connection and to provide social integration because appearances matters enormously (Gottfried, Schussed).
It is true but marketing in this case is about provide some visibilities to those who are in a group. Consumers take their identity from their possessions Authors like Bell and Dimmitt argued that people take their identity from their possessions but they missed the fact possessions cannot provide individual history background like personal history. Consumption cleavages being less based on social class Someone claims that consumption tend to erase social division (e. Clothes do not fleet social belonging like in the past) but still is an importance of social classes because people seek for status and visibility in possessions related with the amount of money they earn. More communication of social life It is also claimed that more and more aspects of social life are being commodities but actually it increase the level of independence within a society. The impact of fantasy and imagery in influencing buying For Featheriness there are three aspects of consumption in the consumer society: 1 . Patterns are a significant source of status differentiation 3.
It is also a source of fantasy and pleasure But the fact that people buy because of imagery it is not proven. Privileging ephemeral and superficial values It is right that ad has been created to persuade product characteristics but not only but also to provide a compelling logic as to why the brand is best for the function is being served. Image-saturated environment pressing consumers to buy Focus on insistence and multiplication of marketing messages.. Marketing as the power to stylizes and domesticate the perverse for contradictory (seductive image, designer labels and so on).
In fact consumers are free to select the images and ads they want, ads provide a sense of what is happening in the word. Globalization as transmitting the consumer society The controversy is based on because of mass marketing cultures are undermining by globalization and we can feel an anti-US feeling around the globe (Labeler with Nikkei and Michael Cordon’s image). The thing is not only even countries that claiming they hate American culture are taking American icon like Mac Dona’s (India) but also this cultural issue is balanced to the fact that ethnicity and chauvinism are embroiled (Ala) relied.
Hedonism and the pleasure motive revisited Sentimentally says humans have have a need to keep consciousness on looking for goods, in the other part Campbell argues that human motivation involves also moral obligations. Even morally image can be sources of pleasure but there is similarly aesthetic pleasure, this is what it is called hedonistic paradox. However we must add a distinction between happiness and pleasure, the first one is an idealistic pursue and it is built for the preservation of species the second one is short-lived. So that
Rationalizing Hedonism contrary to narrow hedonism make the distinction between hedonism (the pursue of achievements people tend to seek for with pleasure) with pleasure achievements. So that marketing aim is to capture audience for: 1 . Contemplate buying with pleasure 2. Buy without reservation So desire doesn’t determine buyer action but it rather be a synonym for a species of motive, reasons of action involve more than motive. There is 4 factors which will determine buying action 1 . Motive to buy 2. Ability to buy 3. Opportunity to buy 4. Beliefs in buying Is marketing really responsible for the hedonist life style?
Several modern authors like Banyan, Sentimentally or Stresses agree with the fact that marketing-hedonism is received as pejorative. Because hedonist means creation of wants… Narrow hedonistic perhaps but this one doesn’t dominate our lives. Product or another one. Marketing is not a celebration of hedonism but something much more complex. Conclusion Marketing is often accused of sustaining, often associated with hedonism and consumerism several critics argued it invents wants among the population. In fact Marketing surface wants, it has been a long-time that materialism has been present In our society.