Ad Nauseum 3 & 4

This novel continues to be thought-provoking and insightful. The portion about advertising

in schools was perhaps the most disturbing and depressing chapter for me. Kids watch the same set of lengthened commercials every day in school. Advertising in classrooms?!?! As part of a typical school day?!?! This to me was a real WTF? moment. A lot of the children interviewed in this chapter thought that the commercials were public service announcements or short films, rather than ads, because they were shown in school. Kids read these commercials as if they were watching an educational film. Moreover, they are forced to listen and watch about Pepsi or Sprite during their school day. For the advertisers, this is ingenious. The Persuaders would love to creep into that niche; in fact I don't know how advertisers managed to do it. I guess that is what happens when schools are underfunded, they become corporately sponsored and are forced to show lengthy commercials about soft drinks or potato chips. Seriously, admen must see this as an incredible opportunity for brand loyalty and embedding corporations and messages of consumption into the minds of sixth graders. The schools and our educational system should be ashamed of themselves.

Im starting to believe that we are no longer free. When our kids have to watch commercials in school in order for that school to have the means to become educated, there are serious problems. The looming smog-filled cloud of corporate control and consumer culture is infesting more and more minds at still younger ages. What about our responsibility to upcoming generations?

Another interesting bit from the book was how DeBeer, through ingenious marketing, made everyone believe that the diamond ring was the ultimate statement of love. When a company can brand itself to an emotion, they have really made it big. Every man looking to propose to a woman, must empty their pockets for this rock, the ultimate symbol of forever. I thought this coincided largely with what The Persuaders movie laid out. Companies make it big when they have become a part of culture, which is exactly what DeBeer did.