Name Brand Drugs: Why Tylenol is the Only Brand I Trust

It's funny how the drug market works. As I understand, when a company releases a new drug they have a certain amount of time in which they have a monopoly on that certain drug. (I think this time is somewhere between 12 and 20 years). During this time they have to make up all the money the spent in research and production as well as turn a bit of a profit. The fact is, much of the price in manufacturing drugs is the research and development, while production is actually quite cheap. So, once the patent runs out the name brand drug other companies are allowed to come in and produce generic products, during which time the name brand product drops in price. However, the name brand drug never drops down quite as low as all the generics do. So I wonder, how is it that these big companies like Tylenol are able to stay afloat if they're marketing Acetaminophen at more than twice the price as the same product offered by Equate? It's all about marketing, and the consumer's belief that their health isn't something to skimp on.

They might even be playing on nostalgia. Not explicitly, but Tylenol has been around for years. It's a name you can trust. So when you have back pain or a killer headache you could go and get the generic stuff, but are you sure they are really going to get the job done? After all, Tylenol has been at this for years while those generic companies have only been on the scene for a relatively short time. While Equate has yet to prove itself as something that can stick around, Tylenol has stood the test of time and has year in and year out been there for you, your family and every headache that has come your way.

That's the thing. It's just Tylenol. There is only one ingredient in there: Acetaminophen. It's not like Burger King trying to replicate the Big Mac but they can't find that secret ingredient, it's just taking everything that Tylenol has employed and offering it for a lot cheaper. Yet, that name goes a long way, and the comfort that people feel when they are purchasing the name brand medication goes a long way for drug companies like Tylenol.

So what about us? As Christians we have put our faith in the only one who is able to help us, who gives us comfort and protection. The best part: we don't have to pay anything for Him. Christ paid the price already. All we have to do is accept the gift. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." We don't have to shop around for those generic Gods that we think will do the job. (Spoiler!!! They don't). We have the one and only God here for us and all we have to do is say, "yes."

They Know Me Too Well

-->

Have you ever noticed how truly creepy Facebook is? Apart from the fact that people virtually anywhere can stalk you, Facebook now seems to be advertising my page with things that are surprisingly very relevant to me. This past week I have been keeping track of advertisements that have been applicable to me on Facebook, and it seems as if they have found some way to keep track of the websites I visit outside of Facebook! Creepy.

 

             Since I thought this was so creepy, I took pictures of the advertisements to show in this blog. Let me give you some examples. First of all, about two weeks ago I purchased fall boots online. Now, the sidebars of my Facebook page (and even other websites I go to for homework help) are flooded with advertisements about buying new boots. Next, (as much as I am embarrassed to admit this) I look at engagement rings every once in a while to see what I like. About a week after visiting the Kay Jeweler website, advertisements about selecting an engagement ring appear. Finally, this last instance seems most creepy to me. As some may remember, my first blog entry was about my obsession with Nikes. Also, I love SpongeBob SquarePants, and I even dressed up as him for the Ollies Follies Variety Show. Facebook is now popping up ads on a weekly basis for me to buy SpongeBob Nikes! How do they know all of this about me?! How are they getting this information?

  

      

             I decided to do a little research to figure out what the heck was going on. I went to check out Facebook’s privacy settings, specifically the section about how they use my information to advertise. Here’s the first thing that I found:

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2558730081077&set=vb.20531316728&type=3&permPage=1

            Upon digging a little further, I found that Facebook uses the pages I “like” and information I share on Facebook, such as my location and gender, to pick ads that are “right for me”. Also, Facebook personalizes ads for me by using information from third parties, such as the shoe store I purchased by boots from. This page even gives me tips about how to impact the ads I see by keeping the pages I “like” up to date or clicking on ads that I like to see more ads like it. If you want to check it out for yourself, here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/help/?page=209956322454409.

            Maybe I am just a tad old fashioned, but this is all so creepy to me! I am not okay with the way they join my information from my Facebook to information from other places to market to me. It is not so much that I don’t want to be marketed to; my main issue is that somehow multiple different companies are linking information of mine from multiple, unrelated places. Who else is doing this to me besides the marketing business? It is my fear that someone out there could unite all sorts of information from my Facebook, my shopping history, and my location to use against me in ways I could never protect myself against.

            Since the ideas of privacy and having certain personal rights are more modern principles, I have begun to wonder what the Bible says about it. Of course, there is the idea that our service to God should be done in secret so that the focus stays on God and doesn’t become about us (But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. -Matthew 6:3-4). Another biblical scenario that crosses my mind is when Moses went to the Holy of Holy’s to meet with God in private. The temple itself was a very private place and those who went in when they were not supposed to were even killed. There is even a commandment against stealing, specifically another’s private property. It is not outside the character of God to desire privacy and to keep certain aspects of Himself hidden.

But is this too extreme? Can the concept of lumping together private information to create advertisements be categorized as “stealing”? Since I did put my information on Facebook in the first place, does that mean it is okay for outside parties to use it as they wish? I don’t really know the answers to these questions, but maybe the best solution is that no matter what, we need to respect others and try not to harm them. After all, that is why God gave us the Ten Commandments in the first place, so that we could live harmoniously with each other while serving and pleasing Him.  So in a world where it is really hard to stay anonymous (especially to advertising companies), maybe the best policy is to respect others by not using information against them and respecting yourself by not dishing out person information like it’s candy, even on Facebook.

Choosy Moms Choose Jiff

My greatest fear in life is that I will be a failure as a mother. Now, do I really believe that I will fail in all aspects of motherhood? No. Do I believe I will make mistakes? Yes. As a result, like many other moms and future moms, I want to take extra precautions so I make the fewest number of mistakes possible. To calm the fears of worrying mothers, myself included, companies have come out with a variety of products and advertisements that promise success as a mother. This promise of success gives a mom hope that, not only will she be an outstanding and successful parent, but her child will also be outstanding and successful.

Take, for example, the Gerber Life "Grow-Up Plan". The web page makes promises like, "Give your child a powerful headstart!", "Security for today, Savings for tomorrow," and "Give your child an advantage for a lifetime." Each of these statements instills hope in a parent that participating in the "Grow-Up Plan" will provide protection for their child at a low price. It's a valuable investment in the child's future. And according to this commercial, it will actually help the child be successful once he's grown up.

In addition to the "Grow-Up Plan," Gerber also offers a "College Plan" for parents to invest in. Both of these opportunities can be extremely valuable to a child's future and parents are, no doubt, being responsible by thinking about their child's financial future. However, that doesn't change the fact that both of these plans appeal to the hope we have as parents (or future parents) for the success and well-being of our child.

Another company that uses hope to market to parents is Johnson's. Their trademark commercials place a heavy emphasis on the fact that smart moms who know what's best for their baby use (insert Johnson's product here). The Head-to-Toe wash commercial is especially moving as a wonderful mother bathes her adorable child.

While a child is still an infant, parents are especially worried about making mistakes. Babies are so impressionable and fragile. In this way, Johnson's plays both the hope card and the fear card to convince parents to buy their products. If you don't use Johnson's gentle formula to bathe your child, you may damage his/her delicate skin (fear). However, if you do use Johnson's to care for your baby, he/she will love you and appreciate you more, just like that baby in the commercial (hope).

A third appeal to our hope of being a successful parent is found in the tagline of everyone's favorite peanut butter: Jiff. Of course, everyone knows that "Choosy Moms Choose Jiff". This phrase encompasses the hope of a mother. A good mom makes good choices about her child's life. According to Jiff, Choosy Moms (the ones who make careful decisions) choose their brand of peanut butter. Therefore, if I buy Jiff peanut butter, I am both a Choosy Mom and one who makes good decisions. What more could a mother hope for?

Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be a good parent. Children are a gift from God and He expects parents to love and cherish them. In addition, God calls parents to raise their children in the ways of the Lord. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6. Although the chances that we will never make mistakes as parents are very slim, with God's help and guidance (and perhaps a few parenting products) we have hope that we can provide our children with a bright and successful future.

I'm going to make it to the Major Leagues!

“There is a time when all that is better is before us. A time of hope, hope fastened to a game. Hope not so much to be the best to ever play the game, but simply to stay in the game and ride it wherever it goes. Just do it.” ~Nike

The sports field has become a source of excitement, dreams, expectations, and hopes throughout our world. As children, everyone tends to have that one athlete that we look up to, idolize, and want to be like when we grow up. For me, I always wished that I could play soccer like Mia Hamm, shoot hoops like Michael Jordan, throw a football like Tom Brady, and hit homeruns like Big Papi (David Ortiz). They were my heroes because they were in the lime light-they were famous, talented, and popular. I wanted to have their talent, lead the team, and be the star. 

Don’t we all?

                Well, obviously, every child cannot become the Mia Hamms and Tom Bradys of the world. Not everyone can be the hero that scores the winning basket in the game or runs fifty yards for a touchdown with one minute to go. The world of professional sports would be nonexistent if this was the case. 

                But there is always that dream, that desire, that possibility, that hope that maybe, just maybe, I could be the one to make it; that if I work hard enough, practice enough, run myself into the ground enough, I could be the one to make it to the Major Leagues, the NBA, the NCAA, the World Cup, or the Olympics. Most young athletes have hope that they will one day become someone great. However, our world tends to shoot down these hopes and dreams, telling kids not to get their hopes up, for they will only be broken in the years to come. Kids work so hard and it amounts to nothing because the world finds value only in people that are worthy of fame, excellence, and popularity.

                Nike, one of the leading sports corporations in the world, uses a variety of ways to advertise to a wide array of people, from kids and teens, to professionals and even the general public. However, one of its key advertising components is its ability to play on the hopes and dreams of young kids to succeed in their athletic dreams. I love this commercial that Nike created:

This commercial gives kids hope to not necessarily succeed at being the best player to play the sport, but instead to focus on being the best they can be wherever their lives take them. Nike uses this commercial to give kids, and even adults, the idea that they do not have to be famous, popular, or the best to succeed in sports or even life. This idea that kids can be athletically successful also motivates them to continue to get involved in athletics in their schools, towns, and communities. 

When kids get involved in sports, what do they do? Well, they most definitely buy sports gear so that they can play the game! 

Where do they go to buy sports gear? They go to Nike! Because Nike is the trustworthy sports corporation that has given them hope that they can be who they want to be to be successful in the world.

Nike boosts these kids up, sparking them to play the game, to go after their dreams, to be the best they can be…and to use its products, because if Nike believes kids can play the game, then certainly its products will help them succeed at the game. It is the truth, now isn’t it?

It is interesting to see the vast amount of ways that the advertising world manipulates the general public. Now, I do not think Nike is necessarily manipulative in a bad way. I believe that Nike supports and believes the statements that it made in its commercial about kids not needing to amount to anything more than who they are. I don’t think Nike would use something in advertising that it didn’t support or believe in. However, the plus that comes with the advertisement is the monetary benefit and publicity that comes with it. In a way, the general public falls captive to the traps that the Nike, and the rest of the advertising world, sets for us. They play on our raw emotions, our desires, our dreams, and our hopes in life, all of which are important. The advertisers know this and play upon it, but we also allow them to do so. 

This is not necessarily a bad thing; it can be, but it doesn’t have to be, as long as we have the knowledge and are not completely clueless as to allow advertisers to manipulate us. In my opinion, Nike presents an appropriate, positive, and influential means of advertising because not only does it succeed in advertising its products, but it also adheres to a younger generation that is in need of hope, guidance, and encouragement. Nike uses its popularity and fame to effectively and positively influence the public. Our world would be a better place if all advertisers focused on the influencing the community for the better through their advertisements.

An Honors Student Grocery Run

            So many stores use tactics like “buy-one-get-one-free” sales and loyalty cards in order to get us to buy and spend more. Most consumers think they’re getting a better deal, but are actually spending more in the long run. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:2, “Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” These stores are deceiving their unassuming customers into spending more money, making them think it’s actually a better deal. We as Christians shouldn’t use deception to get ourselves higher up on the ladder of success. We should be honest and present the truth to everyone.

This past Friday, I went to Kroger’s with a friend to buy groceries. Not terribly exciting, right? I had just finished reading the chapter in Martin Lindstrom’s book Brandwashed about data mining (yes, I know I was supposed to read it for Thursday, but sometimes life happens and we don’t do our Honors homework), and was still thinking about all the things he wrote in the chapter. So a seemingly normal trip to the grocery store turned into an Honors blog post. Everything I saw in the store, advertising and marketing wise, I instantly connected to what we were talking about in Honors class the day before. I went into the store with a specific list that I was determined not to veer from (I found out that I’m what Lindstrom would call a “No-Nonsense Shopper”), but my friend didn’t have any idea of what she was going to buy before she went in. I thought to myself, “This would make for a really interesting case study for Honors!” because we had two totally different approaches going into the store. She was going to just grab what looked good and I was set on getting only what was on my list.

            We started off in the produce section because bananas were at the top of my list. My friend decided that she wanted bananas too, so we both grabbed a bunch. Then we wandered over to the dairy section because she needed cheese and I needed milk. On the way we passed the lunch meat displays and saw some “All Natural” bacon on sale for 2/$6. My friend grabbed two packages and said, “It’s two for $6 – who can resist?” 

All I could think of was the part in the book that talked about how superstores use this technique to make you think you’re getting a better deal when you’re actually paying more. Moving farther down the main aisle, we passed an end display with Doritos on it. I had tortilla chips on my list, so I stopped to see if there were any “Hint of Lime” Tostitos (my guilty-pleasure snack food, eerily the same exact snack that’s given as an example in Lindstrom’s book). But the only chips in the area were the Doritos on the end of the aisle. I had to go looking through most of the other aisles before I came across the chip aisle. I grabbed my tortilla chips and my friend grabbed a couple bags of chips as well.

Then we started back toward the dairy section for our cheese and milk, what we had originally been looking for before the chip aisle side trip. I grabbed a gallon of 2% Kroger brand milk (the only kind I really like, probably because it’s the only kind my mom buys at home) and my friend grabbed a half gallon of Kroger brand chocolate milk. I saw a couple rows of egg nog by the milk and decided to check them out just because drinking egg nog is one of the holiday traditions in my family (the store was trying to use the nostalgia marketing technique on me, but I didn’t succumb – I stayed strong and resisted the urge to buy a half gallon!). Just below the egg nog I saw something else that caught my eye. It was labeled as “Grade A, Vitamin A&D, Sweet Acidophilus Lowfat Milk”. I had never heard of that kind of milk, so I decided to compare the nutritional facts to those on my 2% milk. I found out that the only differences were the amount of fat and cholesterol in the nutritional facts, but in the list of ingredients the Sweet Acidophilus Lowfat Milk said “pasteurized homogenized lowfat milk, Vit. A palmitate, Vit. D3 and Lactobacillus Acidophilus (active culture)”. Here’s a picture if you don’t believe me:

I’m still not quite sure what to make of this milk. I have no idea why it’s so special, besides having a special kind of bacteria in it. I’m also not sure what this really has to do with marketing techniques, but I thought it was really strange so I decided to include it in my blog.

            My friend and I had to make our way back to the front of the store to check out and in order to get there we had to go back through the ice cream aisle (okay, so we didn’t really have to go down that specific aisle, but we did anyways). There were four different varieties of Oreo brand ice cream! 

I spotted some pumpkin ice cream on sale and just couldn’t resist (I keep ice cream on my shopping list just in case I find a good deal and want to justify me buying it since I’m a “No-Nonsense Shopper” and don’t like to get anything not on my list).
          We finally made it back to the front of the store and to the checkout line, an hour after we walked in. As we approached the cashier, he asked if we had a Kroger’s Plus membership card. My friend didn’t, but my mom has one so I used her account for both of our orders. To get the savings and points on the Kroger’s Plus Card you have to give the cashier either a card or the phone number that goes along with the account. I couldn’t help but wonder if my mom will be getting coupons for chocolate milk, bacon, “Hint of Lime” Tostitos, and pumpkin ice cream in the near future.

Living the brand

We are living the brand. We have prayed, thought, walked, and poured ourselves into it. We strive through it every single day. It’s embodied in us and it’s what brings others back. We are living in hope, promise, and future. We are part of the sweeping brand movement of Olivet Nazarene University.

We have t-shirts, sweatshirts and sweatpants, active-wear, lanyards, water bottles, planners, folders, and bumper stickers. We have football, basketball, soccer, swimming, volleyball, and numerous other sports teams and their paraphernalia. We have pictures, the occasional newspaper clipping, tagged photos on facebook, memories, changed lives, a promise for a prospering life from God. (“ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11.)

Why do you think alumni come back with such regularity? Nostalgia is a big part, yes, but the hope that they felt in this place—the hope that God has done and is still doing something amazing in their lives—draws like a magnet. They want to be reminded by this place that God is advancing His kingdom forward with their lives and our own.

Think about it. College is the embodiment of hope (no duh, I know)—hope for the future: hope in a degree, a job, a spouse, a dream. We are the future leaders of our fields, companies, nation, and world. We are being molded to become God’s vessels in the world, wherever He leads us. In all honesty, it’s overwhelming, daunting, and uncomfortable. We’re being refined by trials and learning perseverance in order to “be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:4)” and to bring God glory.

1 Peter 1:7 states that “These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” And also Zechariah 13:9 “And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

There’s hope in the change though. Olivet’s atmosphere has been a catalyst for me and my spiritual growth, always reminding me of what’s on the other side of the change, perseverance, and pain—healing.

While the future, the change, and the perseverance may be daunting, the opposite side of the coin is true as well; it’s exciting! God is making something of our lives. We are finally on our way to becoming adults so we can make something of ourselves (and not be prodigies to do so)!

The ultimate mark of this (and of the Olivet brand) is the diploma—the single piece of paper that we’ve been waiting our whole lives to receive. It forever proclaims that we are part of Olivet and the hope, both sacred and secular, that it represents. So while it may be a brand, it is one that I am proud to claim as my own. I’m living in hope. How about you?

Privacy: How much?

What causes privacy?  Is it the theft committed using personal information?  Is it advertising agencies constantly sending information in the mail or filling ad space on the internet that might pertain to you?  Is it people that you know, learning about an experience of yours and sharing it with others?  I think, generally, it’s the fear of what others might do with the information that they have about you.

I had an experience with privacy earlier this summer.  A few of my friends had a Google plus account so they could video call each other and they told me to get one too.  I got onto the site and began to fill out the steps.  I finished everything and was ready for the screen to show that would typically say, “The confirmation for your password has been sent to your email.”  However, this time it was different.  This time it asked for my phone number so that they could call or text me the confirmation.  Needless to say, I didn’t get a Google plus account that day.  Unfortunately, I had to cave and give up my number when joining this blog, but I kept the number which sent me the confirmation in my phone just in case. 

Why did I do all of this?  I don’t really know.  If Google now has my phone number, then everybody in the world has it and I think that is what worried me.  I didn’t want to be known by the world.  I didn’t want to be contacted by everybody who is out there.  I didn’t want everyone to be able to access me and who I am.  Is this reaction rational? 

How are we to look at privacy as Christians?  After I realized the actual fear behind my reluctance to release my information, I realized how contradictory it is to how we are to live as Christians.  I was worried that people might know who I was or that they might be able to contact me.  Although the probability of that happening is low, it is the fact that I was thinking these things that makes me wonder if we take privacy too far.

The Bible addresses privacy in a few different ways.  First, there is the side of humility and acting or giving for the Lord in secret so that it is solely for the Lord and not done so that others may see to receive self-glorification.  This aspect is done out of humility and worship for the Lord, not loving and desiring praise for one’s self before God.  The other side is complete transparency for the glory of God.  It demands confession and exposure so that the work of God in one’s life may be a witness to others.  John chapter three, verses 20-21 says, “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

I think it’s important to understand our intentions and our actual fears when we are addressing our own privacy.  Our pursuit should be to love the Lord.  Everything will flow after that.  It might be easy to dismiss decisions as unimportant, but everything can be used to glorify God.  Whether we’re acting out of humility so that He receives the glory, or whether we are exposing everything so that it may be seen what He has done, all that matters is that He is the one that receives the praise.