Dumbest and Most Detrimental Commercials & Family Points About "Affluenza"

Below are the results of our little contest:

Dumbest: Snuggie (Melanie R.)
Detrimental: Amp Energy Drink (Kristen K.)
each of the winners received 5 votes. So they will earn 2 bonus points for this exercise.

I appreciated all of the submissions. You clearly seem to be aware of the often ridiculous lengths to which advertisers will go to sell us stuff, even to the point of offending us and promoting lifestyles that are unhealthy both for us as individuals and for society as a whole.


FAMILY POINTS FROM "AFFLUENZA": so everyone has these points, I restate them below. Keep in mind that I may draw on them in making up questions for the midterm exam.

Blue Family: Most startling fact or statistic: that the average American family (or parents) spends 6 hours a week shopping but only 40 minutes together with their children. In addition, it was noted that "materialism has truly consumed the American people" and perhaps most especially the kids.

Point or argument: Clearly, the voluntary simplicity movement did NOT reach 15 percent of the American people by 2000, as one expert predicted. "From the time the movie was made (1997) I believe the percent has dropped from five percent due to the poten(cy) of affluenza. The "green" movement that was intended to reverse the trend of overconsumption appears to have shifted the focus of spending but not reduced it in the least."

Yellow Family: Most startling fact or statistic: same as above.

Point or argument: The misuse of credit cards. People often don't understand how to use credit cards; they forget that the money they charge to their cards will eventually have to be paid back. Credit card debt is fueled by all the commercials we see which convey the message that "you can buy happiness" (but "just don't pay retail for it," of course).


That's all for now. REMEMBER, ON TUESDAY (2/24) I WILL BE HANDING OUT OUR FIRST ESSAY ASSIGNMENT, WHICH WILL BE DUE ON THURSDAY (2/26).