I was relaxing one afternoon this break and the movie, The Joneses, looked pretty interesting. The summary that the movie gives is that it is a family living with a "dark" secret. (hope I don't ruin the movie for everyone else) In reality, the movie is based on a pretty interesting concept of self marketing.
Thus, this family moves into an affluent neighborhood and projects a certain lifestyle to their neighbors. Eventually, all the neighbors want to "keep up with the joneses" and they start buying the same products that make up the Joneses lifestyle. However, eventually the viewer comes to find out that the Joneses are self marketers of the products and what is portrayed as their life, is them actually working. They work for the company that makes every product (and the lifestyle) that the Joneses market to their neighbors. In the end, we find out that their lifestyle isn't "real" and neither are the Joneses.
Although there are the ethical issues surrounding self marketing and what the movie entails, I thought it was a clever idea. It makes sense that everyone in a sense does try and "keep up with the joneses" and for a company to take advantage of that and sell their product sounds like good business.
What do you guys think? Do you think people buy certain products to fit into a specific lifestyle?
I definitely think that people buy certain products to fit a specific lifestyle. I know that when I am looking for an item, wether it's a backpack or s t-shirt, it has to meet a certain quality and brand that fits what I perceive my self and my lifestyle to be. I don't necessarily buy things to try to look like a specific person, but admire and try to make the style my own. For example I always wanted a camel-bak so I bought one this summer because i've seen how useful they can be on a hot summer day.
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