“We’re a nation of consumers. And there’s nothing wrong with that.” Those are the first lines of a new Discover card commercial called “Brighter.” When I first heard those words, I choked on my lemonade. It seemed like a joke for a second or two, but it quickly became clear that the the commercial was completely serious and not at all ironic. I think it’s meant to be like a soothing pat on the back – it’s okay, America, there’s no need to stop shopping. Your friendly credit card company is here to help you maintain your lifestyle during expensive and deadly wars, a national energy addiction, and a housing crisis.
This was definitely a “where’s the outrage?” moment for me. How is this an acceptable message for primetime television? There IS something wrong with being a nation of consumers. There’s a lot wrong with it. Especially when the credit card market shows signs of unravelling just like the home mortgage crisis.
I should probably just avoid watching TV. It’s definitely not good for my blood pressure.
If you’re as offended as I am by the idea of a credit card company telling us to buy more of what we don’t need, I’d recommend checking out the Adbusters magazine and website, or joining Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping.
I also just did a search on Idealist for volunteer opportunities related to debt counseling and found a couple.
One Comment
Hannah, you’re completely right on the matter. It’s frightening when the concepts of budgeting, restraint, planning and prioritizing give way to the “I gotta have it now” feeling (which is further aggrivated by TV commercials like this). I’m excited to see the new movie I.O.U.S.A., which is all about the national and personal debt we’ve been accumulating. I thank goodness I haven’t incurred very much debt in my life, but still curse the $2000 or so on my credit card. I used a nytimes.com interactive calculator, and according to my age range and household income, I’m in the lower 5% range. That’s encouraging for myself, but discouraging to think of all those in my age/income ranges who are wallowing in debt. And it only makes things worse when commercials, billboards, magazines, etc are creating a blind “yeah, it’s OK” kind of attitude about consumerism. I wish financial planning, banking & credit cards 101 was taught in High School – just the basic overviews of how to budget, balance and understand all the tiny print in credit card offers. Allowing teenagers and College students to take control of their own financial knowlege is incredibly important to our future, and pre-debt counseling is the way to combat the consumerist lifestyle. I’m all for making money and paying for stuff, just make sure one matches the other without incurring debt. Thanks for the post! – Sierra