Walker: Lance Armstrong and People Essay

9/16
Ignoring the Joneses Have you ever stopped and wondered why you buy the things that you do, or why you pick one brand from another? Well in a book called Buying In by Rob Walker, he explains his theories why people buy the items that they buy. Companies are looking for that "Desire Code" (54). Walker elaborates on two of the most important reasons why people choice the items that they do. It has to do with the importance you have with the item but the two main words Walker uses that greatly describe this decision are salience and relevance. As quoted by Walker salience simply means "We have to know something about it, be familiar with it, have it easily accessible in our minds" (58). Salience is all about how advertisement pretty much works. Advertisers want their main brand that they are selling permanently embedded in our brains. They want people to imagine their main product when they hear their company's name on TV, or the radio, etc. Walker provided the example of the live strong bands ( yellow bracelets that had the words Live Strong on them) and how popular that little item had gotten. These bracelets started off for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a cyclist who is a cancer survivor, and were worn by Lance Armstrong and his crew. As time passed more and more celebrities were seen wearing the Live Strong bracelets. Even John Kerry was wearing one while giving his speech to accept the Democratic nomination in the presidential election (60). Because of all this popularity and recognizable of this little yellow bracelet, the item became salient. But the big question is why did people buy this item? It didn't help them in anyway or change their view on things. That's where the other part of Walkers theory came from: relevance. Relevance is something

Show More

Related Documents: Walker: Lance Armstrong and People Essay

Why Do Anabolic Steroids Be Banned?