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IMO, advertising is the best indicator of buying habits! - Turn off the TV sound and watch the commercials (I record almost everything and avoid these vapid, mushy-headed 'reflectors of society'). Rarely will you see anything related to an actual product! Instead, it's all about the implied 'social and sexual benefits' of owning almost anything. It's the very heart of the old ad slogan: "Sell the sizzle, not the steak."
Yes, people make most of their buying choices in an effort to 'keep up with the (imagined) Jones's'. If people started buying products or making decisions because of value and function ... the advertisers would be the first to tell us! (The politicians and 'talking media heads' would be second).
IMO, advertising is the best indicator of buying habits! - Turn off the TV sound and watch the commercials (I record almost everything and avoid these vapid, mushy-headed 'reflectors of society'). Rarely will you see anything related to an actual product! Instead, it's all about the implied 'social and sexual benefits' of owning almost anything. It's the very heart of the old ad slogan: "Sell the sizzle, not the steak."
Yes, people make most of their buying choices in an effort to 'keep up with the (imagined) Jones's'. If people started buying products or making decisions because of value and function ... the advertisers would be the first to tell us! (The politicians and 'talking media heads' would be second).
Everyone's motivations are different. Last year I bought a 60" LED TV for the downstairs family room. Yes, some of my friends and family had LEDs before we did, but that was more due to the fact that we were simply late in getting around to buying one. I saw the pictures on theirs, in the stores, etc...and decided, "Wow, hockey is going to look AWESOME on that TV." Keeping up with them was less on my mind than simply improving my own viewing experience over my then current set, which was a 32" HD tube TV, not to mention the space and electricity savings that came with the LED. Cost was also a factor for me. At the time I purchased it, 60" LEDs by Samsung and Sharp were going for as much as $2000. I bought a 60" Vizio Razor at Costco for $899 as it was rated the best LED TV for the money for 2012 by CNET. I guess it depends on how much thought you put into what you're purchasing.
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