I am glad that we finally came to the
topic of peer pressure because I get to use two of my favorite commercials as
examples. These commercials would be the 2010 Christmas commercial for TJ Maxx
and Marshalls (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfsTIOOcDzM&safe=active)
and the 2011 Christmas commercial for TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Home Goods (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byG8AKKMjmA&safe=active).
Peer Pressure. We all try to avoid
giving in to that weakness of letting others rule our decisions, but sometimes we
fail. Sometimes we feel like it is the only way to belong. Acceptance is most
likely the chief reason why we allow people to persuade us to do what they want
to do. We have a fear of being rejected if we do not play along with their
wishes; that fear is just a part of what it means to be human. Peer pressure
sometimes plays on our other fears as well in order to get the job done. The
commercials from 2010 and 2011 for these stores center around the purpose of
these stores, which is to save you money, but uses peer pressure to get you
there.
For instance, the 2010
advertisement draws you into the commercial with its opening lines in the
jingle: “In the mall/ when you’re shopping/ budgets burst.” That is where they
hit on everyone’s weak spot of hurting wallets. No one wants to break the bank
when shopping, even if it is the holiday season. A couple lines later is where
they call into question whether or not shopping at the mall is normal human
conduct “with prices above/ what any normal human wants to pay.” You are not a
normal homo sapien if you pay the
high prices for the items at the mall. How can you fix this problem? Simply
shop at TJ Maxx or Marshalls and you will be happier because your wallet hurts
a little less.
Another example is the 2011
commercial that begins by questioning your very happiness for the holiday
season: “Do you want the most wonderful Christmas of all?” Well, all you have
to do is leave the mall and shop at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, or Home Goods. This ad
uses the same thought process as the last one. All of these people are happy
because they did not shop at the mall. They shopped at cheaper stores, which
provide the hope for a great holiday because you are not worried about how much
it is all going to cost you.
In both of these catchy ads, the
biggest way they implemented peer pressure is not in the words they sang. It is
what is happening through the entire commercial. There is this small group of
people at the beginning of the commercial who want to inform everyone in the
mall that they can get better prices elsewhere and begin a revolutionary
movement throughout the mall. As they pass people, the group grows larger
insinuating that all these people are joining the movement to “get out of here”
– here being the mall – and be happier because they made this decision to
follow the example of the people who began the commercial.
I acknowledge the fact that people
can use peer pressure to get someone to do what is right, but that is not the
right way for them to do it.
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform
any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good,
pleasing and perfect will.” (NIV)
The Bible tells us right here that
we are not to give in to the pressures that come from the world (being man) but
to be renewed in our minds (our thought process/decision making) so that we can
know God’s will! Our ultimate goal as Christians is for our will to be God’s
will, but peer pressure – pressure that has worldly origins – is a stumbling
block to overcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment