Advertisers_and_Needs

Parents are being obligated by media campaigns to see luxuries as necessities for their children even when human needs have not changed throughout history. According to the theory of Abraham Maslow and his hierarchy of needs proposed in 1943 in his book A Theory of Human Motivation, necessities are classified in five categories: physiologic needs, which are food, oxygen, water, sleep, among others; safety needs, related to security in life including financial stability and protection; social needs linked to friendship, affection, and relationships in general; esteem needs referred to respect from others, fame, glory, reputation and so forth; and last the self-actualization need, in this level people do what they want to for personal-satisfaction, as artists and philanthropists. This theory states that each level must be satisfied in order to continue to the next: one person who is hungry cannot think of taking care of his or her financial problems or worry about fame until hunger is satisfied. This can be altered by good manipulating advertisers. Children and young people can influence their parents to the point of forcing them to jump the theory’s consecutive list of categories to a different one. Most business develop goods and services based on Maslow’s hierarchy, but marketing campaigns are based on the exploitation of sense of social need that prevails especially in the segment of children and young people , in order to sell their products. Video games are an excellent example of this social need that is not necessary to live a healthy life but among young people with financial stability and protection provided by their parents are since the 1980s essential to make new friend and to feel as part of their local social segment. It is unthinkable for youth not to start a conversation with other boys without talking about the new video game launched from Xbox, PS3 or Wii; even, when their parents’ salaries are below the standard level. Simply, kids who do not have expensive electronics devices are out of trend and place. A friend of mine delayed the purchase for a washer machine, which was an essential need at her home for a PS3 that she bought for her son due to the pressure that the boy kept on her. Young people’s attitude toward luxuries which are confused for necessities get worst in poor countries where jobs are badly paid and money is scarce; however publicity is still as strong as in the United States. In some poor countries to be poor does not stop people from having in every house a TV set that receives the newest information about fashion, technology, and news. Everyone is exposed to advertisements, marketing, and publicity, especially young people. I know of a person really poor who spend more than one month salary and her Christmas bonus, about one hundred dollars in one pair of tennis shoes for her kid; she worked as maid, cleaning houses, cooking and ironing. She was pressed by her child because the kid wanted the latest Michael Jordan advertised tennis shoes to presume among his friends. In this case, they only have barely satisfied the first and the second stage of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; even though, they slept in a shack, hardly ever fed and their financial stability is based on a miserable salary, the third level is being accomplished only by her kid which is his social satisfaction and not hers. These are good examples of persuasive actions from good and strong marketing campaigns which make anyone rethink about Maslow’s theory of hierarchy when directed to young people. Advertisers know that parents give in to pressure from their children when it comes to the field of fashion and trends leaving some basic needs out; so it is no wonder that when it comes to these luxuries for their children parents do the impossible to please them. These luxuries were induced as necessities by publicists on people instead of satisfying basic needs.