Disclaimer: I know I’m dredging up a long dismissed argument from 10 years ago, and discussing it in all the same tone as people did back then, despite everyone having moved on. My core thesi…
People usually complain about bad quality of stuff like furniture and clothing cheaply made in countries like India just based on vibes. But as soon as the same product is promoted as hand made you seen people dream up romantic stories of artisan production.
Last time I’ve seen that was a small table made up from a wooden rectangle as a plate and a bunch of quare metal tubes welded together and painted. The furniture was advertised as hand made at a very low price around 25€. I’m pretty sure with current technology there is no cheaper way to make something like that by hand with power tools and very low wages. But the marketing advertising it as hand made completely changed the reception, from something made to be as cheap as possible to something artisinal.
oh yeah, the tried and true method of raising a commodities perceived value by lying. I look forward to the day when marketing is treated as the little fraud that it is
I think there is balance marketers need to strike. When working conditions in sweatshops are on the news, you rather have the consumers believe in full automation. When it’s not on everyone’s mind you can market it as hand made.
those marketers will take whatever balance their owners demand, so if/when workers interests are put first I think marketing will morph into a pseudo public announcements type of thing. current trends have me believing that things are about to become more hyper individualized, preying on specific fears and anxieties. rather than the more general tones we see today (eg “You’re too fat” becomes “partner’s name] thinks you’re too fat” complete with an ai actor that looks like your partner).
People usually complain about bad quality of stuff like furniture and clothing cheaply made in countries like India just based on vibes. But as soon as the same product is promoted as hand made you seen people dream up romantic stories of artisan production.
Last time I’ve seen that was a small table made up from a wooden rectangle as a plate and a bunch of quare metal tubes welded together and painted. The furniture was advertised as hand made at a very low price around 25€. I’m pretty sure with current technology there is no cheaper way to make something like that by hand with power tools and very low wages. But the marketing advertising it as hand made completely changed the reception, from something made to be as cheap as possible to something artisinal.
oh yeah, the tried and true method of raising a commodities perceived value by lying. I look forward to the day when marketing is treated as the little fraud that it is
I think there is balance marketers need to strike. When working conditions in sweatshops are on the news, you rather have the consumers believe in full automation. When it’s not on everyone’s mind you can market it as hand made.
those marketers will take whatever balance their owners demand, so if/when workers interests are put first I think marketing will morph into a pseudo public announcements type of thing. current trends have me believing that things are about to become more hyper individualized, preying on specific fears and anxieties. rather than the more general tones we see today (eg “You’re too fat” becomes “partner’s name] thinks you’re too fat” complete with an ai actor that looks like your partner).