Brandwashed, Martin Lindstrom (Zoom in- Zoom out)
“By uniting us against a common enemy, fear also brings humans together. It has a preserve yet delicious binding quality. It's for this reason that we love to spread fearful rumors, sometimes blowing them out of all proportion just to heighten the sense of danger." (33. Brandwashed)
Zoom In: In this passage, Martin Lindstrom denotes a method used by big corporations and advertising companies that literally scares people into buying things. Lindstrom explains that "uniting us against a common enemy, fear also brings humans together", which is a stark statement, but definitely not an inconceivable one. This is such interesting prose, because when we humans feel afraid, the last thing we are thinking about is how united we are. We are thinking about what we can do to eradicate the danger, and how we can feel safe. In 2009, sales of the well known hand sanitizer Purell rose by 50%, which also happens to be the year that the H191 pandemic (better known as "swine flu") erupted. This statistic is fascinating because we can see how us humans were scared of something, in this case, getting the swine flu, but we managed to unite and buy 50% more hand sanitizer. This was our way of eradicating the danger, and feeling safe. The most enthralling part of this is that hand sanitizer does nothing to prevent the H1N1 virus, because it is spread through the air in the form of a cough or sneeze from a infected individual! You may be asking yourself "How and why did people choose to buy Purell to feel protected from H191?". Well, Purell posted a statement on their website saying that "According to the Centers for Disease Control, one of the ways you can help protect yourself from Swine Flu is by practicing good hand hygiene. specifically using an alcohol-based sanitizer." What they are trying to insinuate is that their product is the key to good hygiene -- and that without it you will not be as healthy, and will be at risk of getting the Swine Flu. The CDC did say that hand
Zoom In: In this passage, Martin Lindstrom denotes a method used by big corporations and advertising companies that literally scares people into buying things. Lindstrom explains that "uniting us against a common enemy, fear also brings humans together", which is a stark statement, but definitely not an inconceivable one. This is such interesting prose, because when we humans feel afraid, the last thing we are thinking about is how united we are. We are thinking about what we can do to eradicate the danger, and how we can feel safe. In 2009, sales of the well known hand sanitizer Purell rose by 50%, which also happens to be the year that the H191 pandemic (better known as "swine flu") erupted. This statistic is fascinating because we can see how us humans were scared of something, in this case, getting the swine flu, but we managed to unite and buy 50% more hand sanitizer. This was our way of eradicating the danger, and feeling safe. The most enthralling part of this is that hand sanitizer does nothing to prevent the H1N1 virus, because it is spread through the air in the form of a cough or sneeze from a infected individual! You may be asking yourself "How and why did people choose to buy Purell to feel protected from H191?". Well, Purell posted a statement on their website saying that "According to the Centers for Disease Control, one of the ways you can help protect yourself from Swine Flu is by practicing good hand hygiene. specifically using an alcohol-based sanitizer." What they are trying to insinuate is that their product is the key to good hygiene -- and that without it you will not be as healthy, and will be at risk of getting the Swine Flu. The CDC did say that hand