reading summary8

4 DESIGNING OBSOLESCENCE, PROMOTING CONSUMER DEMAND

The logic of growth within a capitalist market economy necessitates continual pursuit of increases in productivity and perpetual innovations in design and manufacture of an endless stream of products, an essen­ tial corollary of which is the need to ensure consumer demand for the proliferating variety of 'new' goods is continually generated by utilizing a variety of techniques and strategies to cultivate appropriate levels of interest and desire. As one critical analyst of the promotion of consumer culture has noted:

In response to the exigencies of the productive system of the twentieth century, excessiveness replaced thrift as a social value. It became imperative to invest the laborer with a financial power and a psychic desire to consume. (Ewen, 2001: 25)

Increasingly, from the mid-twentieth century, corporations turned to marketing and product management to nurture and expand markets for the growing range of new goods being produced, directing particu­ lar . . ative wa s of rendering older pr;;"ducts out of date, unfa ble obsolete, and in need of rep acement.

The impression of a pro uct's newness' may e ac ieved and conveyed in a number of ways, for example through 'aesthetic' modifications, such as relatively superficial changt!'s in appearance, perhaps involving repack­ aging or a modest modification of the exterior, or by introducing more

85

ENCE, ER DEMAND

rket economy necessitates and perpetual innovations

earn of products, an essen­ consumer demand for the

ually generated by utilizing ivate appropriate levels of e promotion of consumer

uctive system of the .thrift as a social value. ; with a financial power ·001: 25)

DESIGNING OBSOLESCENCE, PROMOTING CONSUMER DEMAND

substantial differences in styling and design, and, more significantly, by virtue of the introduction of 'physical' or 'technological' modifications, which promote improvements in performance, or the addition of inno­ vative features, which have implications for a product's range of func­ tions and use. The principal aim is to convey the impression that the production of newer versions or later models renders existing prod­ ucts aesthetically or technologically obsolete. It is more than a matter of things not being made to last, although that is part of the story. .ll also involves the generation of an understanding that in a modern con­ SUmer societ thmgs are not meant to last because each tomorrow will' deliver and the resumption is that t e new' will necessarily be better and mQre desirable.

Planned Obsolescence

Planned or organized obsolescence assumes two principal forms, 'aesthetic' and 'physical', both of which serve the corporate objective of promoting repeat consumer purchases of products (Packard, 1963; Dawson, 2005; Slade, 2006). In the case of aesthetic modifications, confined to packaging, appearance, style, and design, the 'new' product generally performs the same functions as existing comparable products, but the availability and marketing of the new model, charged with sym­ bolic value by virtue of its status as the latest product, effectively renders all the earlier models in use 'old', or unfashionable in appearance, and, looking out of date, they appear, and are designated as, in need of retire­ ment, disposal, and replacement, even though they may still be fit for the purpose(s) for which they were originally designed, produced, and purchased .

Physical or technological modifications also promote the prospect of increasing the frequency of repeat purchases by engineering obsoles­ cence. Two possibilities need to be distinguished, namely (1) .the devel;­ opment of new products bearing new functions and/or containing rechnical innovations and additional specifications, which lead existing products to be regarded as obsolete and virtually worthless by virtue of their si nificantl inferIor ran e of functions and performance, and more contentiously (2) the pro uction of goods deliberate y eSlgne to functIon for a limited erIod, or to have limited life sans, effectively goo s manufactured with built-in or en ineere death dates', oods w lC are not made to last. By geliberately manufacturing products with a limited term design-life - 'product death-dating' - corporations have

86 CONSUMER SOCIETY

sought to prevent market saturation and maintain the prospect of economically viable volume production (Packard, 1963: 58; Dawson, 2005: 88-9; Slade, 2006: 164-7).

The phrase 'planned obsolescence' is often associated with a leading American industrial designer, Brooks Stevens, whose creative skills were employed in designing clothes dryers, refrigerators, irons, as well as a number of cars including the Jeep Station Wagon, but the practice had in fact been around since the mid-1920s and the term was originally used in the early 1930s by a Manhattan real-estate broker Jack London who produced a pamphlet with the title Ending the Depression through Planned Obsolescence (Slade, 2006: 73, 152-3). It was in the course of delivering an address to an advertising conference in 1954 that Stevens first made the controversial suggestion that planned obsolescence constituted the mis­ sion of industrial design. Elaborating on his understanding of the notion of planned obsolescence Stevens commented that it meant instilling in the buyer 'the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, [and] a little sooner than is necessary' (cited in Slade, 2006: 153). It is evident that for Stevens obsolescence was primarily a 'psychological' rather than a technical or functional matter, although innovations in both of these respects frequently playa part in mobilizing consumer demand for new products. As Galbraith observed, a combination of product innovation and advertising 'plays a vital role in stimulating the psychic obsolescence of goods and their replacement', with advertising serving to persuade the consumer that the new form of the product makes earlier versions appear deficient and that in respect of the latter 'possession and use ... [will] reflect discredit on the person so owning and using it' (1975: 167). It is the image and aesthetic qualities ascribed to the new product and the popular appeal accorded to it through advertising campaigns, more than improved technical or functional aspects, that Galbraith argues are ultimately 'decisive for success' (1975: 167).

Cars and Mobile Phones

Galbraith refers to product promotion in the car industry as a good exam­ ple of the way in which advertising, independently of the promotion of specific makes or models, has worked to persuade consumers that contem­ porary designs, shapes, and details are desirable and that 'those of the past are obsolete, eccentric or otherwise unworthy' (1975: 156). In his study of obsolescence in America Gi~s Slade (2006) describes how market compe­ tition between Ford and General Motors in the 1930s led to frequent style changes and associated advertising campaigns designed to encourage con­ sumers to buy the new models regularly rolling off the production lines.

87

After the mid-1920s, middle class consumers were encouraged to buy a new car every year, and the annual automobile shows made viewing the new models into a cultural spectacle of prog­ ress ... the idea that models would be phased out and replaced with new ones each year, changed not only the auto industry but also the way Americans thought about consumption. (Sheumaker and Wajda, 2007: 54)

DESIGNING OBSOLESCENCE, PROMOTING CONSUMER DEMAND

Other industries worldwide now operate in a broadly comparable manner, aiming to increase product turnover by designing 'artificially short life-spans for commodities' and introducing aesthetic and design innovations that promote forms of 'stylistic obsolescence' which will serve to promote an optimal frequency of repetitive consumption (Dawson, 2005: 88,90). The twenty-first century mobile phone industry provides a comparable example to the early twentieth century car industry in the sense that, in addition to being the target of well established marketing strategies, phone users are actively encouraged by letter, text, and calls, on a 12-18 month frequency, to 'upgrade' by exchanging their existing phone for a later model, one generally offering a new design and more functions and services. In the USA and the UK most mobile phones have a 9 to 12 months market life cycle and a consumer replacement cycle under two years. New de-signs of mobile phone have been emerg­ ing on a regular basis as models are 'tweaked' or 'freshened' so that several 'new' versions can be readily produced each year. Where more

The introduction of regular model changes to maintain growth in car sales is argued to have been the idea of the president of General Motors, Alfred P. Sloan, who, recognizing that the market at the time was approaching saturation point as nearly everyone who could afford a car had already purchased one, reasoned that 'unless automakers gave a motorist a reason to buy a new car, even when he already had one, auto makers would have no one left to sell to' (Loab, 1995: 79). The solution promoted by Sloan was an annual model change, involving innovations in design and, where and when possible, performance, which would promote disenchantment with the models consumers already owned and convince them the new model in the showroom was worth purchasing. Sloan sought to 'decrease durability and increase obsolescence' by introducing regular changes in design, style, and color, the intention being to influence the consumer to 'exchange his car a year or more old for a new car of the latest design' (Slade, 2006: 43, 44).

Subsequently, Sloan has been credited with introducing the practice of planned obsolescence to stimulate consumer demand not just into the car manufacturing business, but more broadly into American industry and consumer culture in general:

aintain the prospect of kard, 1963: 58; Dawson,

car industry as a good exam­ dently of the promotion of de consumers that contem­

le and that 'those of the past '(1975: 156). In his study of escribes how market compe­ e 1930s led to frequent style

. designed to encourage con­ ing off the production lines.

associated with a leading , whose creative skills were

rators, irons, as well as a agon, but the practice had e term was originally used broker Jack London who Depression through Planned

the course of delivering an .that Stevens first made the scence constituted the mis­ nderstanding of the notion

that it meant instilling in newer, a little better, [and] e,2006: 153). It is evident 'psychological' rather than novations in both of these consumer demand for new tion of product innovation g the psychic obsolescence

rtising serving to persuade uct makes earlier versions tter 'possession and use ... g and using it' (1975: 167). d to the new product and vertising campaigns, more s, that Galbraith argues are

88 CONSUMER SOCIETY

significant modifications of hardware and software and added functions are involved the product development cycle is generally in the region of two years.

The following advertisement ironically acknowledges how the mobile phone industry is continually engineering obsolescence and inducing product retirement, while simultaneously appearing to sympathize with the consumer's predicament of knowing that any 'upgrade' model they choose is destined to become outdated within a few months of agreeing to a new contract:

Ashamed of your outdated old mobile? SWAP.it!

'Your phone's only got Bluetooth and a dozen polyphonic ring­ tones? Well look at this, mine's got 3G, wi-fi, pie-in-the-sky, fifty mega-pixel camera and fully enabled toast capabilities. And I only needed to re-mortgage the flat to buy it.' Sound all too familiar? We sympathize. It's ridiculously hard and expensive to keep up with the latest mobile trends these days - that contract phone that looked so appealing nine months ago is probably already outdated by a newer, faster, more glorious model. So if you haven't got the latest Golden Fallace 3000, the earphone Warehouse is here to help, with their new SWAP.it service. (http:// www.shopping place.co.uklblog/ashamed-of-your-outdated-old­ mobile-swap-it, accessed 20 August 2008)

waste, Disposability, and Obsolescence

In a series of popular books, written in the 1950s and 1960s, Vance Packard focused on advertising and marketing, status seeking through consumer activity, and the growth of private consumption and waste. In The Waste Makers published in 1960 Packard directed attention to the. strategies that were increasingly being employed to induce citizens 'to consume more each year' and what he termed 'the wastefulness being promoted', including the ways in which natural resources were being depleted by 'industrial firms ... grinding up more than half of the natu-. ral resources processed each year on this planet for the benefit of six pel' cent of the planet's people' (1963: 18-19,22).

In particular, Packard focused on the marketing strategies that wer being employed to increase consumption in line with growth in produ tive capacity, including persuading consumers into 'buying more of eac . product', an objective .!hat manufacturers sought to achieve in a varlf

ety of ways. For example, deodorant manufacturers introduced gend differentiated products; carpet makers encouraged consumers to aspir

89

re and added functions enerally in the region of

wledges how the mobile olescence and inducing ring to sympathize with y 'upgrade' model they few months of agreeing

en polyphonic ring­ , pie-in-the-sky, fifty

. capabilities. And I Y it.' Sound all too rd and expensive to days - that contract ths ago is probably lorious model. So if 000, the Carp hone :AP.it service. (http:// -your-outdated-old­

1950s and 1960s, Vance , status seeking through consumption and waste. directed attention to the ed to induce citizens 'to

'the wastefulness being ral resources were being are than half of the natu­ t for the benefit of six per

eting strategies that were e with growth in produc­ into 'buying more of each ght to achieve in a vari­ urers introduced gender ged consumers to aspire

DESIGNING OBSOLESCENCE, PROMOTING CONSUMER DEMAND

to wall-to-wall floor covering; cosmetics, clothing, and home accessories companies introduced a wider range of colors and placed emphasis on color coordination; opticians promoted the idea that people needed more than one pair of spectacles, and that glasses should be considered a 'fashion accessory'; companies producing electrical goods for the home promoted the idea of 'two refrigerators in every home', as well as 'two washers and two driers'; and house builders started to suggest that 'every family needs two homes' (Packard, 1963: 37-9). In addition, one car per family was no longer deemed sufficient for modern life and those fami­ lies so 'deprived' were described by a Chevrolet company representative as 'victims of "one-car captivity" (Packard, 1963: 40).

As well as being enticed to buy more of each product, encouraged to aspire to own more than one house, car, refrigerator, radio, television, phone, or whatever, marketing strategies have been employed to induce consumers to expect further innovations, to look forward to increases in power, performance, and function(s), and to anticipate the continual proliferation of products differentiated in terms of design, styling, and/ or appearance. Insofar as the reproduction of the prevailing system of economic production is increasingly dependent on 'technological ... or organized obsolescence' (Baudrillard, 1998: 46), consumers are encour­ aged to consider durability as no longer a virtue and to regard disposabil­ ity, rather than attachment, as the appropriate relationship to cultivate with existing products in an increasingly 'throwaway' consumer society. In such a society today's goods are destined to be rapidly replaced as consumer markets strive to create 'instant obsolescence ... shortening the distance between the novelty and the rubbish bin', offering products 'for immediate consumption [and preferably] for one-off use, rapid disposal and replacement' (Bauman, 2004a: 118). Things are not made to last. Consumer goods have to have a limited life if the will and/or the need to (re)purchase are to be sustained and reproduced. If the quality of the product is too high, if it is designed too well, not only will it probably have raised production costs, but more significantly it is likely to extend 'the time that end users' needs are satisfied by the product, slashing into or - if quality levels were truly sky-high - killing repeat purchases' (Dawson, 2005: 86).

Music Reproduction: Vinyl, CDs, and iPods

The music reproduction industry offers a number of examples of the generation offorms of physical obsolescence where technical innovations have served to make existing products and formats obsolete. Writing

90 CONSUMER SOCIETY

in the 1960s Packard describes how the development of stereophonic equipment for the consumer market, which was destined to make exist­ ing music reproduction products obsolete, was deliberately held back until 'the demand for additional new-model hi-fi sets was slowing'. It was anticipated that the introduction of the new stereophonic product would 'induce owners of existing hi-fi sets to feel their product was now inadequate' and lead them to replace it (Packard, 1963: 59). The music reproduction industry has continued to provide examples of forms of technologically induced obsolescence as new equipment and a series of new formats have been successfully developed and marketed.

In his discussion of the economic significance of "'reformatting" the attributes of commodities to force people to purchase new means of sat­ isfying existing needs and wants' Michael Dawson (2005: 89) refers to observations made by The New York Times music critic Allan Kozinn. In a series of considered reflections on the respective merits of vinyl long­ playing records (LPs) and compact discs (CDs) as cultural commodities and music reproduction formats, Kozinn expresses his concerns about the commercial engineering of obsolescence that led to the format change from the LP to the CD. Kozinn's suspicions are that it was not 'consumer apathy' that led to the 'unnatural' and 'rather suspicious' demise of the, Lp, or the superior sound reproduction quality, or even the potentially greater convenience of the new CD format, it was, quite simply, com­ mercial interest. Five years after the in trod uction of the format, less than one in seven American homes had a CD player and even by 1993, the l Oth anniversary of the CD, Kozinn notes that less than half of American households had CD players.

An interview conducted with Norio Ohga, at the time the president of the Sony Corporation and one of the individuals who had worked to encourage the development of the new format, served to confirm Kozinn's concerns about the process of product innovation that led to the displacement of the LP by the CD. Ohga explained that LP market saturation and signs that the cassette market was also slowing led Sony to believe there was a potential commercial market for a 'new carrier', a new format, and encouraged their development of the compact disc. As Ohga comments:

We reached an agreement with Philips on the details of the for­ mat, and we demonstrated it at a meeting of the International Music Committee, in Athens. At that time, there was no support from any other record company. In fact, they almost threw us out of Athens. They all-thought that the LP was fine. But we introduced CD, and wirhin five years, we had kicked the LP out of the industry. (Cited in Kozinn, 1993)

91DESIGNING OBSOLESCENCE, PROMOTING CONSUMER DEMAND

Subsequently, the CD itself has been threatened with obsolescence. Introduced in the USA in the 1980s sales figures have begun to decline with 62.5 million fewer being sold between 2001 and 2002, representing a drop of9% to 649.5 million, and in 2007 The Wall Street Journal reported a 20% drop in CD sales, while digital downloading sales of songs grew by 54% and it was estimated that close to a billion songs were being traded on pirate digital networks (Smith, 2007). Consumers remain as interested as ever in acquiring music but there are now a range of new options, the most popular being the iPod player with the capacity to store anywhere between 240 songs (iPod Shuffle) and 20,000 or 40,000 songs the (iPod Classic 80 GB and 160 GB versions). The Apple iTunes site, promises 'Instant sonic gratification' without entering a store or having to wait for a CD to arrive in the mail. Online music is growing rapidly and as Internet delivery and new technologies increase in popularity, not to mention the impact of 'technological convergence', which is leading to an erosion of functional differences between mobile phones, music players, and digi­ tal cameras, the CD may, like the audio-cassette before it, be rendered obsolete.

Noting the number ofcostly format wars that ha ve taken place, for example back in the 1980s between VHS and Betamax recorders and more recently between Blu-ray and HD DVD players, as well as the succession of audio technologies that have emerged, made it to market, sold to consumers, and then been rendered obsolete by yet more ingenious, innovative, even more portable and powerful devices for collecting, storing, and playing music, Giles Slade (2007) designates Apple 'champion of audio obsolescence'. Slade argues that by adopting a unique digital non-MP3 format Apple's iPod creates problems of compatibility and leads to situations in which dif­ ferent types of music file cannot be transferred to it, effectively limiting downloads to iTunes website. The reverse also holds, so music collected on iPod cannot be transferred to, or used on, other players, leading Slade to caution that when after just 13 months or so of heavy use the consumer finds the lithium-ion battery may have lost 'more than half of its functional­ ity' and the player is fading out, even after more frequent recharging, the options are relatively limited. The new battery route is fraught with prob­ lems, not least because it is sealed inside the iPod, takes several weeks to fix, costs US$65 to replace when a brand new I-gig iPod shuffle costs only US$79, and 'worst of all- because the new battery comes in a refurbished and wiped-clean iPod - you'll lose all your songs' (Slade, 2007).

Apple's iPod

the details of the for­ g of the International there was no support they almost threw us LP was fine. But we ad kicked the LP out

lopment of stereophonic as destined to make exist­ as deliberately held back hi-fi sets was slowing'. It ew stereophonic product

eel their prod uct was now rd, 1963: 59). The music 'de examples of forms of

equipment and a series of and marketed. ce of "'reformatting" the

urchase new means of sat­ wson (2005: 89) refers to sic critic Allan Kozinn. In ctive merits of vinyl long­ s) as cultural commodities resses his concerns about at led to the format change

that it was not 'consumer suspicious' demise of the .

ity, or even the potentially it was, quite simply, com­ 'on of the format, less than er and even by 1993, the less than half of American

at the time the president ividuals who had worked

. ormat, served to confirm uct innovation that led to explained that LP market was also slowing led Sony rket for a 'new carrier', a t of the compact disc. As

92 CONSUMER SOCIETY

With the iPod imminent disposability is effectively a designed feature, because in addition to battery deterioration, 'speedy obsolescence' is pro­ moted by the continual development of new models. The iPod transformed Apple from a largely marginal computer company into a manufacturer of digital music players, and simultaneously provided the company with what has become a powerful and popular brand, one which has been enhanced by the addition of a new product, the iPhone. Following the development of the iPhone a new generation of iPods emerged in 2007 with one new model the 'Touch' utilizing design features and user inter­ face concepts from the new phone product. However, any consumer plea­ sure that may be derived from purchase of the latest model is fleeting, rapidly diminished, and ultimately surpassed by the emergence of even newer models promising to deliver more. As Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO ofApple Inc., is reported to have stated, 'If you ... want the latest and greatest ... you have to buy a new iPod at least once a year' (cited in Slade, 2007). Although Apple recycles obsolete iPods free of charge, their policy of planned product obsolescence contributes to the volume of electronic waste (e-waste) that is being produced and is difficult to reconcile with their claim to have 'a really strong environmental policy' (Slade, 2007).1

The potential environmental impact of continual electronic prod­ uct innovation generating obsolescence and contributing to increasing e-waste leads Slade to argue that:

the disposability of the iPod and the fight among manufac­ turers over DVD formats seem irresponsible if not criminally negligent. iPods are crammed with lead, mercury, and flame retardant, and the 70 million already sold represent a sizable amount of toxic chemicals that seep through landfills and con­ taminate groundwater. Electronic waste accounts for 2 percent of America's trash in landfills but 70 percent of its toxic gar­ bage. In 2003 alone, 3 million tons of e-waste were generated in the United States. (Slade, 2007)

A number ofother examples ofcontinuing electronic product innovation and associated developments likely to contribute to e-waste are discussed by Slade (2007), including the continuing growth in mobile phone sales with their 18 month lifespan - over 3.3 billion were reportedly in use worldwide in 2008 - and the introduction by Microsoft in 2007 of Vista the new oper'[l ating system with memory and graphics requirements that have renderedl many existing PCs and laptops obsolete. An additional comparable exam" pIe arises from the decision of governments around the world, starting' 2006, to move from analog terrestrial broadcasting to digital signal tra mission. This is leading consumers either to purchase set-top converte boxes for existing televisions or to buy new digital televisions and dispose

93

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provided the company with brand, one which has been

the iPhone. Following the ~ of iPods emerged in 2007 ign features and user inter­ owever, any consumer plea­ the latest model is fleeting,

by the emergence of even Steve Jobs, co-founder and 'If you ... want the latest and t once a year' (cited in Slade, s free of charge, their policy to the volume of electronic

is difficult to reconcile with ental policy' (Slade, 2007).1 continual electronic prod­

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fight among manufac­ nsible if not criminally d, mercury, and flame

sold represent a sizable ough landfills and con­ accounts for 2 percent

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in mobile phone sales with e reportedly in use worldwide

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additional comparable exam­ around the world, starting in casting to digital signal trans-

to purchase set-top converter .gital televisions and dispose of

DESIGNING OBSOLESCENCE, PROMOTING CONSUMER DEMAND

existing sets with all the attendant e-waste problems. In 2009, '300 million analog TVs in the United States' became obsolete with the switch to digital; by 2012 in the UK it is planned that the analogue switch off process will have been completed and that all households will have some form of digital television receiver (Slade, 2007).

The volume of e-waste being produced has increased significantly with estimates ranging from '20-50 million tonnes ... worldwide every year' (Greenpeace, 2005: 4; United Nations Environment Programme, 2006). As the average lifespan of electronic products decreases and the quanti­ ties sold worldwide increase, the problem of e-waste is destined to grow. It has been estimated that in the period 1997-2005 the average life of computers in developed countries fell from six to two years and that the lifecycle of mobile phones was 'less than two years'. Moreover, in the calendar year 2004 global sales of computers increased by 11.6%, an addi­ tional 183 million over the previous year, and mobile phones by 30%, an additional 674 million over 2003 (Greenpeace, 2005: 4). Given continu­ ing innovations and developments in the manufacture of electronic prod­ ucts and expectations of further growth in sales with the emergence of potential new markets in China and India in particular, the environmental impact of e-waste is likely to remain a significant problem.

Fashion and style: marketing obsolescence

Obsolescence is not confined to the functional and technical qualities 0u goods alone, it also extends to appearance, design, and look, in respect of which, as a number of analysts have noted, advertising and marketing exercise a persuasive influence on consumer preferences (Packard, 1963' Galbraith, 1969, 1975; Ewen and Ewen, 1992; Baudrillard, 1998; Klein, 2001; Ewen, 2001; Dawson, 2005). In late 1950s America, Packard noted that advertisers were making increasing references to 'the desirability of creating "psychological obsolescence'", manufacturers were seeking to emulate the automobile industry's policy of trying to 'make everyone ashamed to drive a car more than two or three years', and merchandis­ ers were being advised to become 'merchants of discontent' (1960: 24). A combination of advertising and marketing campaigns to promote style and fashion conscious consumers, alongside the manufacture of new models and styles of products, would promote dissatisfaction with exist­ ing product ranges, which would appear 'old and outmoded', and stimu­ late purchase of the latest designq (Packard, 1960: 143-5). In France in 1970 in a related analysis of ths myths and structures of consumption in late modern societies Baudrillard re-affirmed the cultural and eco­ nomic significance of advertising, noting how in the prevailing system of

94 CONSUMER SOCIETY

prod uction a substantial budget is devoted to 'the sole aim not of addin"g to t use-value of ob'ects but of subtractin - racting rom their time-value by subordjmltjng ~H:eft\ tQ ~lulir E:ilsbjon-yalue and

t-; ever earlier replacement', (1998[1970]: 46), in short, devoted to the p;omotion of aesthetic obsolescence.

The importance of perceived aesthetic features and qualities of goods is well recognized by advertisers and within corporate market­ ing and product management. Consumer goods not only have utility and function(s), but also acquire or have attributed to them, aesthetic or sign value, to which consumers react and respond. If appearance is not quite everything, it certainly is of great importance for every thing that is produced for the consumer market, as the level of attention and scale of resources devoted to presentation, styling, and packaging in production and marketing effectively demonstrate. Style, as Dawson notes, is used to 'stimulate attention and condition targets', to strike an emotional cord with potential consumers, to promote an 'I want it' and often an 'I must have it' emotive response:

By consciously controlling the style conveyed by the product attributes they treat as marketing stimuli, corporate market­ ers profitably exploit the fact that people have aesthetic reac­ tions to objects. (2005: 90)

Style is not everything, but it matters, it conveys an instant impression;' arouses interest, may prompt an inquiry and lead to a sale, and in that respect external appearance, packaging, shape, textures, material, color; and aesthetic appeal are of paramount importance. Placing an emph sis on the novelty, difference, or fashionable character of the styling of . product promoted as contemporary, as new, as 'now' in advertising an marketing, serves another vital purpose, notably making existing camp. rable products, quite literally, look obsolete. Planned aesthetic or stylis' obsolescence is integral to a significant number of industries, includi clothing, where 'designers and manufacturers rely on a carefully m aged fashion cycle of revolving colors, cuts, patterns, logos and h lengths to boost their sales by outmoding last year's apparel' (Dawso 2005: 90). Cosmetics manufacturers operate in a similar manner, as do big brand companies in the sports goods business, the likes of Nike Adidas, who strive to continually develop new lines of sports clothing footwear, and so increasingly do producers of other household consu goods, the durability of which is deliberately compromised by the in . duction of 'planned style changes [that] are ... effective in making .. mean replacement time ... earlier than the failure time of the produ (Dawson, 2005: 90). The pace of the fashion cycle in clothing in partie. has accelerated and as style changes have become increasingly more ra

95 DESIGNING OBSOLESCENCE, PROMOTING CONSUMER DEMAND

observers have commented on the emergence of 'fast fashion' and have expressed concern about the environmental problems arising from the tons of'old' clothing being thrown out to make way for the 'new', a great deal of it being shipped off to poorer countries where the prevalence of man­ made materials means they may never biodegrade and soil productivity is impaired (BBC, 2004, 2009c).

Changes in fashions and styles, especially in respect of clothing and appearance, have a long history in the West, arguably extending back to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries (Braudel, 1981). However, it was only really from the mid-nineteenth century that developments in communications such as 'telephones, the wireless, a transatlantic cable', increases in personal mobility and travel, which 'made swifter transmis­ sion of ideas and designs possible', and the production of ready-to-wear goods in particular, provided the preconditions for a fashion market to develop in the USA and Europe (Leach, 1993: 93). The marketing of fashion(s) has subsequently grown in significance and scope and the pace or rate of change in styles and fashions has accelerated significantly. As Leach observes, 'in the context of the American mass market, fashion demanded constant change, incessant newness ... Since the specialness of any single fashion tended to go stale or vanish quickly as many consum­ ers struggled to buy it, merchants had to supply the market at a feverish rate to maintain the fiction or glamour of uniqueness' (1993: 92).

Magazines and newspapers playa significant part in marketing fash­ ion, offering attractive images, articles, and advertising copy of styles and 'looks' that are represented as fashionable. Readers are exhorted to 'update' their personal appearance, their 'look', their possessions, and the interior of their homes, by buying this season's deliberately dif­ ferently styled clothing, accessories, decor, and furnishings, the subtext being not so much an invitation as an injunction to the reader to recog­ nize the extent to which they, their possessions and their homes are des­ tined to be out of date and in need of a makeover, which only repetitive consumption can remedy. Fashion and style images and texts contribute to aesthetic or stylistic obsolescence by promoting a proliferating variety of new designs through multimedia dissemination, mobilizing consumer demand by generating awareness of new products, and promoting inter­ est in new styles and fashions, serving simultaneously to diminish the appeal of things already owned, worn, and used, and to induce consum­ ers to shop and shop again. As the industrial designer Brooks Stevens remarked in an interview in1958:

Our whole economy is based orl planned obsolescence ... We make good products, we induce people to buy them, and then next year we deliberately introduce something that will make these products old fashioned, out of date, obsolete. We do that

96 CONSUMER SOCIETY

for the soundest reason: to make money ... It isn't organized waste. It's a sound contribution to the American economy. (Cited in Packard, 1963: 58; see also Slade, 2006: 153)

Planned aesthetic or stylistic obsolescence has become an even more significant feature of late modern economic life as increasing competi­ tion has led to a growth in innovations in styling and packaging, which either lead to modifications of existing products, or to new wrappings and containers - 'elaborate packages ... [constituting] essential platforms for marketers' planned behavior-modification campaigns' (Dawson, 2005: 91), both of which serve to color perception and lead pre-existing commodities to appear as out-of-date, old fashioned, or obsolete.

Romancing the Consumer

A significant counter-argument to the views of analysts who have placed emphasis on the part played by marketing and product management in the generation of consumer demand and promotion of consumer activ­ ity is developed in a treatise on modern consumerism outlined by Colin Campbell (1989). The acknowledged template for Campbell's thesis is Max Weber's social and economic analysis of the contribution the protestant ethic made to the formation of a culture conducive to the development of capitalist economic life. Campbell's analytic interest is in the possibility of an association between consumption and romanticism, between the emergence and development of a culture of modern con­ sumerism and a romantic ethos, one which it is suggested can be traced back to the mid-eighteenth century and the emergence of an intellectual, artistic, and literary counter-Enlightenment movement. The core thesis outlined is that:

The Romantic Movement assisted crucially at the birth of mod­ ern consumerism; it is also maintained that romanticism has continued in the two centuries or so since that time to work in such a way as to overcome the forces of traditionalism and provide a renewed impetus to the dynamic of consumerism. (Campbell, 1989: 206)

Presented as a challenge to what is described as 'the productionist eco­ nomic bias which pervades most of social science' (Campbell, 1989: 7: 13), the counter-argumen~has a number of distinctive elements. It is sug­ gested that we lack a 'satisfactory account of consumer behaviour' and that in its absence there is a failure to understand precisely what drives

97DESIGNING OBSOLESCENCE, PROMOTING CONSUMER DEMAND

modern consumption and explains the apparent insatiability of modern consumers, their seemingly inexhaustible and 'endless pursuit of wants' (Campbell, 1989: 36, 37). Given the assumptions on which the study pro­ ceeds it is understandable that issues associated with consumption should predominate, but it is surprising that no consideration is given to the vari­ ous ways in which consumption is articulated with production. There is a recognition that the substitution of an analytic bias towards consump­ tion for a perceived bias towards production will not lead to a satisfactory analysis, but in the final instance while the question of the relationship between modern production and modern consumption is briefly posed, its answer is deferred to a 'subsequent work'.

Consumption and production are closely articulated and the relation­ ship between them is complex and varied, as has been noted above (see Chapter 1). However, the analytic starting point for Campbell is not the articulation ofproduction and consumption, but how, given his assessment of the limitations of explanations that are considered to prioritize production, to account for the consumer revolution, the increase in consumption that was a corollary of industrialization, 'that dynamic generation of new wants that is so characteristic of modern consumerism' (1989: 202). Rejecting a range of explanations that favor emulation of the conspicuous consumption of the rich, an increase in productive capacity, and associated cultivation of a mass consumer market through the development of new techniques in mar­ keting and distribution accompanied by the 'rise of advertising', Campbell argues that the 'standard account' is unable to offer an adequate explanation of either the historic emergence of a 'new propensity to consume or indeed of modern consumerism more generally' (1989: 23). Expanding on the limi­ tations of existing explanations he comments that all we have is an identifi­ cation of relevant factors - emulation, fashion, market manipulation ­ 'but there is no worked out understanding of the relationship between these, or any statement of the precise manner in which they might be consid­ ered to have interacted so as to have brought about such a transformation' (1989: 23). To achieve a more effective account he argues that not only is a more adequate conceptualization of modern consumerism required, but also an analytic appreciation of the importance ofa hedonistic or pleasure­ orientated dimension to human conduct, one that does not reduce the 'origin of wants' to the pursuit of utility (Campbell, 1989: 202-3),

While there may be some respects in which it is warranted to regard aspects of consumer activity as guided by notions of utility, function, and rational pursuit of satisfaction, Campbell suggests this far from exhausts what is distinctive about consumption and that it is important to acknowledge the significance/of what is presented as a 'romantic' ingredient or dimension to consumer activity, which primarily means pursuit of the experience of pleasure. In developing his argument

y at the birth of mod- that romanticism has ce that time to work of traditionalism and mic of consumerism.

as 'the productionist eco­ ce' (Campbell, 1989: 7: 13), , ctive elements. It is sug­ consumer behaviour' and tand precisely what drives

,.. It isn't organized American economy.

e,2006: 153)

f analysts who have placed d product management in motion of consumer activ­

umerism outlined by Colin late for Campbell's thesis is of the contribution the

culture conducive to the bell's analytic interest is in

.umption and romanticism, f a culture of modern con­ t is suggested can be traced mergence of an intellectual, 'movement. The core thesis

has become an even more life as increasing competi­

'ling and packaging, which ucts, or to new wrappings ituting] essential platforms 'on campaigns' (Dawson, tion and lead pre-existing

hioned, or obsolete.

98 CONSUMER SOCIETY

Campbell distinguishes between 'satisfaction-seeking' and 'pleasure-seeking' consumer activity (1989: 60). The distinction presented is between a 'state of being' in which needs, described as forms of deprivation - the lack of ,something necessary to maintain a given condition of existence' - are rep­ resented as driving the pursuit of satisfaction through consumer activ­ ity, and a 'quality of experience', pleasure, which represents a desired 'favorable reaction' that is sought in and through consumer sensations (Campbell, 1989: 60-1). Needs are said to require very particular forms of satisfaction - hunger requires food, thirst necessitates something to drink - whereas pleasure can be derived from a variety of eminently inter-changeable or substitutable experiences.

Where the satisfaction of needs remains uncertain, where the threat and experience of deprivation continues to haunt the human condition, Campbell argues that there will be relatively little awareness of a dis­ tinction, or of a possibility of choice, between 'maximizing satisfaction' and 'maximizing pleasure', and that the very act of satisfying a basic or fundamental need (e.g. hunger) may itself promote pleasure. However, with the emergence of affluence, enjoyed in the first instance by the privileged, the wealthy and powerful, fundamental needs are regularly and routinely met and in consequence it is suggested that, rather than being aroused, consumer sensations associated with need satisfaction are dulled, rarely experienced as pleasurable, and that this promotes 'the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake, rather than its mere appreciation as an adjunct of action pursued for other purposes' (Campbell, 1989: 65).

Traditional and modern hedonism

It is argued that it was with the regular production of surplus supply of food that the intensity of pleasure deriving from satisfaction of need began to wane and traditional forms of hedonism emerged. Campbell describes how from classical antiquity accounts can be found of the prac­ tices employed by those with wealth and power to regenerate 'the cycle of need-satisfaction experience' that would promote pleasure and he cites as one example the alimentary practices used by the Romans to extend the pleasures derived from eating, as well as the cultivation of arts or techniques to master, manipulate, and enhance 'sensations associ­ ated with appetites' (1989: 65-6). But such experiences of pleasure are limited by the very nature of human appetitive needs, by 'the small num­ ber of human senses and, the restricted range of sensations which there can distinguish', and tlris, it is suggested led to the identification of other potentially compensatory sources of pleasurable experience (Campbellj 1989: 66). These include aural and visual forms of entertainment, whicli

m

99

their imaginative and creative powers to construct mental images which they consume for the intrinsic pleasure they pro­ vide, a practice best described as day-dreaming or fantasizing. (Campbell, 1989: 77)

DESIGNING OBSOLESCENCE, PROMOTING CONSUMER DEMAND

In summary, consumers dispose-of existing products in the hope, or belief, that imaginary or idealized pleasurable experiences or fantasies can be realized through purchase and use of a new model, consumer product, or service, generally only to confront the sobering reality of

individuals do not so much seek satisfaction from products, as pleasure from the self-illusory experiences which they construct from their associated meanings. The essential activity ofconsump­ tion is thus not the actual selection, purchase, or use of products, but the imaginative pleasure-seeking to which the product image lends itself ... Viewed in this way, the emphasis upon novelty as well as that upon insatiability both become comprehensible. (1989: 89, emphasis added)

It is in relation to the development of 'modern, autonomous, imagina­ tive hedonism' that Campbell (1989: 88) believes answers can be found to questions about the origin and seeming insatiability of modern consumer wants, as well as the tendency to tire of existin roducts and serViCes, In contrast to accounts t at avor mstmct or 'inherited inclinations', invoke the influence of external agencies, or turn to a notion of social emulation to account for consumer conduct Campbell argues that:

iction of surplus supply om satisfaction of need

ism emerged. Campbell n be found of the prac­

to regenerate 'the cycle mote pleasure and he

used by the Romans to ell as the cultivation of ance 'sensations associ­ riences of pleasure are eds, by 'the small num­

f sensations which they e identification of other . experience (Campbell, f entertainment, which

rtain, where the threat nt the human condition, .ttle awareness of a dis­ maximizing satisfaction' t of satisfying a basic or ote pleasure. However, e first instance by the tal needs are regularly ested that, rather than ith need satisfaction are that this promotes 'the its mere appreciation as , (Campbell, 1989: 65),

g' and 'pleasure-seeking' .. presented is between a

of deprivation - the lack . n of existence' - are rep­

rough consumer activ­ ich represents a desired gh consumer sensations re very particular forms ecessitates something to

a variety of eminently

100 CONSUMER SOCIETY

disappointment and disillusionment. Campbell suggests this provides an explanation of why once eagerly awaited products lose their appeal for consumers, and why it is that consumer desire appears insatiable.

The consu mer experience

Undoubtedly, as Campbell contends, fantasy, day-dreaming, and the imputation of meanings, images, and novelty are all potentially a part of the consumer experience, but so also are emulation and status seek­ ing through consumer activity, through the possession and display of fashionable and socially desirable consumer goods, as is the cultivation, stimulation, management, and manipulation of consumer demands through product management, design, and marketing. It is not a matter of either/or; it is not a case of either invoking a notion of the consumer exercising choice, acting freely and expressing demands in a 'voluntaris­ tic, self-directed, and creative' manner in the marketplace, or presenting consumers as cultural dopes led unwittingly to consume whatever is laid before them by advertising and marketing agencies (Campbell, 1989: 203). Consumers are hedonistic, to a degree, and placing emphasis on the importance of pursuit of pleasurable experiences in and through consumer related activities, such as shopping, following fashions, window shopping and so on, is warranted (Campbell, 1989: 92). But present­ ing the emergence and dissipation of 'wants' as entirely a consequence of the agency of the consumer - 'a consumer creates (and abandons) "wants'" - is to neglect the panoply of powerful influences to which consumers are exposed (Campbell, 1989: 203). Likewise, emphasizing. how crucial 'imaginative enjoyment of products and services is', without giving due consideration to the several agencies operating to stimulate, influence, guide, and direct consumer imagination, does not advance the prospect of achieving a more effective understanding of the complex reality of consumer behavior (Campbell, 1989: 92).

The few references made by Campbell to advertising are confined to criticisms of analyses of the consumer revolution and consumer activity, • which are represented as being over-reliant on a notion of the manipulabil­ ity of consumer conduct. For example, it is suggested that in the work of

W::cKendrick et::§(1983) emulation is invoked as the motivating factor stim­ ulatin consumer conduct and that it is advertisin and sales campaIgns that ultimately are deemed res onsible for 'the manipulation 0 SOCIa emu ation' . b . t':l known an as Ion Ie (Campbell, 1989: 20-1). In the work of albraith (1963 it is suggested, the wants or; consumers are held to be 'de I manufactured ... throu Ii su en­ CIes as advertising and salesmanship' (Campbell, 1989: 42-3). A notion of

~

101 DESIGNING OBSOLESCENCE, PROMOTING CONSUMER DEMAND

suggests this provides an cts lose their appeal for ppears insatiable.

manipulation is also considered to be implied in criticisms (non-attributed) of 'non-informative' advertising for seeking to promote consumption of products and services through the dissemination of attractive, enticing, and desirable images and symbolic meanings devoid of any informa­ tion about the intrinsic utility of the commodities and services involved. Campbell is correct to point out that in addition to cognition and con­ ceptions of utility, emotion and feeling are at least just as likely, arguably are more likely, to be a part of consumer behavior and that 'images and symbolic meanings are as much a "real" part of the product as its con­ stituent ingredients' (1989: 48). Nowhere is this more apparent than in respect of the brand, an increasingly important and prominent part of consumer culture, but this constitutes a potentially problematic example for Campbell's argument.

A brand is recognizable as a commercial name, a sign, or logo, associated I 0 ors, an mcreasmg y a s ogan or s men may ave

'festyle connotations an pretensl . roug a creative 'Zommercially dnven process m whIch resources are directed towards the construction of an image or 'personality'. An image that it is antici­ pated consumers will find attractive and appealing, a process that provides a brand's products with distinctive attributes which serve to differentiate them from those of competitors. A vital part of the process is to establish emotional tjes between brand and consumer, to promote in consumers a feelin of brand 10 alt ,and to generate a sense of identity with the brand amon consumers that will ea t em to ase purc asmg eClSlOns ess on price than on a felt sense of ran a Inlty awson, e ran iSabout 'lifestyle' and 'experience'; it has an almost 'spiritual' dimension (Klein, 2001). Brands are fantasy-like, 'collective hallucinations'; their logos now adorn the bodies of most consumers and this contributes to the 'creeping ad expansion' that Naomi Klein (2001: 36-8) notes has become an increasing feature of city landscapes around the world. Branding is a deliberate process in which symbolic resources and iconic figures are deployed to promote the brand and build a synergy between it and poten­ tial consumers in order to engender 'logo-loyalty' (Soper, 2008: 202). Individual consumers are not jn control of the symbolic resoJ![ces and k6nic fi ures employed to excite their interest in a articular rand or conjure up an emo IOna response om them. Once again the implica­ non here IS not that any 1"n and wllI necessarilY achieve its aim, but that consumers are subject to the persuasive forces associated with branding and the techniques employed to position a particular product and

l

102 CONSUMER SOCIETY

differentiate it from comparable products by conveying distinctive, if not unique, attributes, qualities, images, and meanings, with the aim and hope that these willbecome synonymous with the brand in the minds ofconsumers (Klein, 2001; Dawson, 2005).

Campbell does not discuss branding or marketing and where advertis­ ing is addressed it is primarily to take issue with particular conceptions of its significance and to quality assumptions about its impact. For example, advertising is described, and appropriately so, as constituting 'one part of the total set of influences at work on consumers'; its message is held to be interpreted differently according to 'who receives it'; and it is argued that in any event it will not simply be accepted unthinkingly, but met, 'if only to a degree, in a discriminatory and purposeful manner' (Campbell, 1989: 47). While there is an acknowledgement that advertising agencies seek to associate meanings, images, fantasies, illusions, and day-dreams with prod­ ucts to 'awaken desire', and to achieve that end deploy motivation research to discover 'the dreams, desires and wishes of consumers', ultimately their influence is underestimated (Campbell, 1989: 47, see also 9 l).

Consumers, it is true, are not completely malleable, but we are ame­ nable to persuasion, to enticements. In the consumer milieu a range of industry influences are in play which attempt to stimulate, direct, man­ age, and, where possible, achieve a degree of control over consumers and the ways in which they exercise choice in the marketplace. It is the ways in which influences and forms of persuasion stimulate and articulate with consumer dreams, desires, and wishes, the extent to which images, mes­ sages, symbols, and other seductive forms invoked in marketing cam­ paigns successfully arouse awareness, entice interest, provoke desire, and promote the prospect of purchases producing pleasurable experi­ ences, that condition consumption. As analysts of the role of advertising and promotional communication in the growth of the market economy in the course of the twentieth century have noted:

What chiefly distinguishes our contemporary society from earlier ones is not only the sheer volume of goods and services available to consumers in a market economy, but also the sheer intensity of the promotional effort whereby marketers seek to link consumer needs to the characteristics of theproducts they sell. (Leiss et al., 2005: 5, emphasis added)

.Window displays and window-shopping: designs on consumer desire

In taking issue with what are represented as 'deterministic theories of con­ sumer behavior' Campbell places emphasis on the growth of 'modern,

103

Glass was a symbol of the merchant's unilateral power in a capitalist society to refuse goods to anyone in need, to close off access without being condemned as cruel and immoral ... At the same time, the pictures behind the glass enticed the viewer. The result was a mingling of refusal and desire that must have greatly intensified desire ... Perhaps more than any other medium, glass democratized desire even as it de-democratized access to goods. (1993: 63)

DESIGNING OBSOLESCENCE, PROMOTING CONSUMER DEMAND

With the increasing installation of glass-plated windows on shop fronts, merchandising display and decoration grew in importance as merchants sought to 'stimulate desire for all goods' (Leach, 1993: 65). By 1915, half of the world's supply of polished plate-glass was being consumed in the USA, but by 1925 the quantity being used had almost doubled as more and more American merchandisers and retailers sought 'an effective, high density visual environment to encourage consumers to replace old styles rapidly with new ones' (Leach, 1993: 305, emphasis added). With the production of ready-to-wear clothing early in the twentieth century mannequins or wax dummies began to be introduced in window dis­ plays, providing merchants with an even greater ability to 'manipulate goods in their windows' (Leach, 1993: 65). Some of the early displays of

autonomous, imaginative hedonism' (1989: 88). The popular practice of window-shopping is discussed to illustrate the pleasurable experi­ ences derived by consumers from 'imaginative use of objects' displayed, for example the imaginary trying on of clothing, or imagining how dis­ played furniture might look in one's own home (Campbell, 1989: 92). Consumers certainly do window shop and seem to derive pleasure from so doing, and it is likely that some consumers do indeed engage in the imaginary practices identified. It is also likely that some of the enjoyment some consumers derive from window shopping is 'aesthetic, involving an appreciation of the art of the designers and window-dressers involved' (Campbell, 1989: 92). But the contributions of the designers, window­ dressers, and display artists goes beyond the 'aesthetic', the purpose and intended point or impact of window displays that promote window­ shopping is ultimately 'economic', to entice consumers to enter retail premises and purchase goods.

Plate-glass windows became a feature of better quality shops in major American cities from the late nineteenth century where it is argued that they 'closed off smell and touch' as they 'amplified' the consumer's visual relationship with goods (Leach, 1993: 62-3). The development and use of plate-glass windows increased the possibility of merchandise display and transformed 'the way people related to goods' (Leach, 1993: 61; see also Flanders, 2006: 110, 117). Elaborating on the impact of this retail innovation Leach adds that:

nveying distinctive, if not gs, with the aim and hope in the minds ofconsumers

terministic theories of con­ , n the growth of 'modern,

society from earlier and services available the sheer intensity of the consumer needs to the

al., 2005: 5, emphasis

eting and where advertis­ particular conceptions of

t its impact. For example, constituting 'one part of

'; its message is held to be s it'; and it is argued that inkingly, but met, 'if only manner' (Campbell, 1989: vertising agencies seek to d day-dreams with prod­

eploy motivation research nsumers', ultimately their , see also 91). alleable, but we are ame­ nsumer milieu a range of to stimulate, direct, man­

. ntrol over consumers and arketplace. It is the ways ulate and articulate with

ent to which images, mes­ voked in marketing cam­ interest, provoke desire,

ueing pleasurable experi­ of the role of advertising

of the market economy ted:

104 CONSUMER SOCIETY

women's underwear aroused considerable controversy, including criti­ cisms that they were 'immoral', and the large crowds attracted seemed at times on the verge of rioting, prompting police intervention. Worries were also expressed by some perceptive exponents of the arts of display that 'show windows' might 'induce people to spend their money on things they cannot afford' (cited in Leach, 1993: 68).

Shop 'show windows' constitute part ofa range oftechniques, events, and media that were developed to cultivate a commercial aesthetic of desire. Along with 'electrical signs, fashion shows, advertisements and billboards' they were designed to conjure up a consumer vision of 'the good life and of paradise', the primary objective being to entice consumers into shops and promote the sale of goods in substantial volume (Leach, 1993: 9). The value of 'show windows' was recognized early on by the American Gordon Selfridge who introduced them to Marshall Field's department store in the 1890s and, ever conscious of the importance of continually cultivating customers, inaugurated its 'Children's Day' in 1902, remarking that 'children are the future customers of this store and impressions made now will be lasting' (Leach, 1993: 68-9, 86--7). It was in advertising and promotion that Selfridge's main contribution was to be found, according to Flanders, who attributes to him the view that 'window displays were not simply to convey information about stock to passers-by ... but to create desire' (2006: 117). A few years after resigning from Marshall Field's, Selfridge moved to London where in 1909 he opened the depart­ ment store that bears his name, introducing innovative window displays containing 'unified, thematically coherent images', deploying a substantial advertising budget to purchase '104 full-page advertisements [which] ran for a week in 18 national newspapers' to launch the business, and exagger­ atingly proclaiming the venture successful in attracting' 1 million visitors in its first week' (Flanders, 2006: 119-21).

Reflecting further on the impact the introduction of plate-glass shop win­ dows, display techniques, and associated innovations had on consumerism, Leach comments that:

By 1910, American merchants, in their efforts to create the new commercial aesthetic, took command over color, glass and light, fashioning a link so strong between them and consump­ tion, that, today, the link seems natural. (1993: 9)

The connection does indeed seem to have become 'natural', so much so that while Campbell considers it appropriate to acknowledge the window-shopping consumer's aesthetic appreciation of the efforts of designers and window-dressers, the matter of the potential influence or impact on consumers, public space, and the culture of city life of the emergence, development, and proliferation of shop window displays, and

105DESIGNING OBSOLESCENCE, PROMOTING CONSUMER DEMAND

related promotional forms, such as advertising hoardings, or billboards, and neon signs, is left unaddressed (Klein, 2001) .

Shop window displays remain prominent features of contemporary consumer culture, but as with advertising and marketing, capturing attention and arousing interest have become more challenging as con­ sumers have grown accustomed to the employment of familiar designs, layouts, and display techniques. In this context it is worth reflecting on the innovative celebrity window display associated with the widely pub­ licized appearance, albeit brief, of English fashion model Kate Moss as a live mannequin in the window of high-street clothing retailer Topshop in May 2007. Moss was present to launch a line of clothing under her name and the publicity given to her planned appearance in the shop window aroused significant interest among consumers and predictably drew the attention of the media whose coverage provided the anticipated free advertising copy (see Figure 4.1).

Several thousand consumers were estimated to be waiting outside the Oxford Street branch of Topshop-as Sir Philip Green escorted Kate Moss into the building. Media reports claimed that consumers started queuing eight hours before the Kate Moss collection was available to the public and that by the time the model arrived at the store and

Figure 4.1

Source: Gareth Cattermole and Getty Images. Reproduced with permission.

http://www. nitrolicious.comjbloglwp-gallery/0407/km_topshop_onli ne/kate_moss_topshop.jpg retrieved 4 September 2009 .

of plate-glass shop win­ had on consumerism,

me 'natural', so much e to acknowledge the "tion of the efforts of

e potential influence lture of city life of the

p window displays, and

hniques, events, and ial aesthetic of desire. ments and billboards'

of 'the good life and consumers into shops me (Leach, 1993: 9). on by the American

Field's department rtance of continually y'in 1902, remarking

and impressions made as in advertising and be found, according

window displays were . to passers-by ... but igning from Marshall he opened the depart­ ative window displays

deploying a substantial .sements [which] ran

'business, and exagger­ . s'1 million visitors in

ersy, including criti­ ds attracted seemed

intervention. Worries the arts of display that

.. money on things they

106 CONSUMER SOCIETY

appeared in the window display 'the scenes were more remi of the premiere of a West End movie than the debut of an affo clothes range' (telegraph.co.uk, 2007).2 As other marketin promotional media have developed the advertising value of the ventional shop window display has diminished and this has le number of other innovations, such as the interactive shop wind, Tommy Hilfiger Denim in Oxford Street employing touch-screen nology, which allows passers-by to add their own images to the H' Hall of Fame, and Orange's interactive shop window in Carnaby which allows users to 'check the news, watch music videos and trailers, play computer games and access content through the internet portal'. Such examples of digital window displays are consi to represent 'a sign of things to come' (Mallaghan, 2008).

In the competitive environment of the high street retailers m all that they can to draw the attention of potential consumers to products and introducing well-publicized innovations in shop wi displays is one way to (re)generate consumer interest. The Kate window display served its purpose by drawing crowds and attra publicity to both the store and the celebrity endorsed fashion brand. principal appeal was that the clothes were associated with the Kate brand, prospective consumers remarking that 'I don't mind what I as long as it's Kate Moss' and 'I'm here because I love Kate Moss. love her sense of style' (telegraph.co.uk, 2007). Later that year Tops reported that the Moss brand and clothing designs had boosted 'sal more than 10 per cent' (Mail Online 2007). Such anecdotes consti a reminder of the influence that iconic celebrity figures and the br with which they are associated may exercise over consumers and si taneously suggest that a notion of emulation remains of relevance making sense of at least some aspects of consumer conduct. As the dr merchants at Nike and Adidas and a variety other corporations w be able to confirm, there are a significant number of consumers who to imagine emulating their sporting heroes, are eager to 'Be Like M', as the Gatorade advertisement featuring Michael Jordan exhorted c' sumers in the 1990s, and corporations employ their branding strate . and marketing skills to promote that end as they vie for the attenti interest, and purchasing power of consumers whose fantasies they' everything to encourage (Rovell, 2005; Smart, 2005). Suggestible c sumers, and most of us are open to suggestion and influence to a degr are already favorably predisposed towards celebrity figures and the i of emulating their style, including signifying to others that they/we doing so by bearing their designer brand and/or sporting their logo. for example, young female consumers have taken to the idea that can be like Kate Moss by embracing her style and those with sporti

107

people's historically formed and culturally variable wants, tastes, desires, wishes, and fantasies, as well as the pleasures they may crave; the products and services available at anyone time for consumption, plus those that are imminent or anticipated; the wealth and other financial resources, including credit, available to people that makes participation in the purchasing of goods and services possible and determines scale, extent, and frequency; factors that bear on consumer confidence such as employment status and security, as well as perception of future economic prospects; the standard ofliving and lifestyles offriends, acquaintances, and the media profiled consumption ~x(ravagances and excesses of iconic celebrity figures, which in varying degrees people may aspire to and seek to emulate.

Consumer activity is located in a force field of influences that includes:

DESIGNING OBSOLESCENCE, PROMOTING CONSUMER DEMAND

Consumerism's force field

inclinations and pretensions can fantasize that given the right clothing, footwear, and sports equipment they too, after a fashion, will be able to Just do it', like Tiger Woods, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, or LeBron James, or that playing in the fashion of David Beckham, Novak Djokovic, Ana Ivanovic, or Kevin Garnett will not be impossible with the right stuff because 'Impossible is nothing'.

The consumer cycle described by Campbell (,desire-acquisition­ use-disillusionment-renewed-desire' [1987: 90]) - does not occur in a vacuum, it is subject to an array of social, cultural, and economic forces. While from the consumer's perspective the process may appear to commence with desire and, after a completed cycle, recommence with desire renewed, consumer desire is given form and direction, aroused and intensified, and targeted by a range of influential factors, including product management and design, retailing and marketing strategies, as well as media representations of appealing consumer life­ styles promoted as worthy of emulation. The desire-acquisition-use­ disillusionment-renewed-desire cycle revolves around, indeed is driven by, awareness of the proliferating range of new goods being produced, commodities that constitute its object, means of expression, and source of provisional or temporary fulfillment. Consumer desire is stimulated by attractive retail presentation and display of products, mobilized by enticing images presented through marketing campaigns, and excited by media promotion and celebration of materially acquisi­ tive lifestyles.

ere more reminiscent debut of an affordable other marketing and ising value of the con­

and this has led to a ctive shop window at

ying touch-screen tech­ images to the Hilfiger

dow in Carnaby Street, usic videos and movie

nt through the Orange displays are considered

an, 2008). 'street retailers must do

tial consumers to their ations in shop window

. terest. The Kate Moss crowds and attracting

rsed fashion brand. The iated with the Kate Moss ,I don't mind what 1 get,

1 love Kate Moss ... 1 Later that year Topshop

s had boosted 'sales by , ch anecdotes constitute

figures and the brands r consumers and simul­ emains of relevance for r conduct. As the dream er corporations would

r of consumers who like eager to 'Be Like Mike'

elJordan exhorted con­ their branding strategies ey vie for the attention, whose fantasies they do 2005). Suggestible con­ d influence to a degree, rity figures and the idea others that they/we are

r sporting their logo. So, en to the idea that they and those with sporting

108 CONSUMER SOCIETY

Additionally, but by no means of least significance, there is the growing repertoire of marketing techniques that in one way or another are brought to bear on virtually all of the above, with the intention of making people aware of the existence of products and brands, but more importantly attempting to increase existing predispositions to consume by arousing desire, stimulating fantasy, and promoting the idea of a pleasurable experi­ ence being but a purchase away. Given consumer activity is indeed exposed to such an extensive range of influences, the notion that consumer demand is cultivated, nurtured, and shaped, in short subject to various forms of mobilization and management, becomes uncontroversial (Ewen and Ewen, 1992; Ewen, 2001; Klein, 2001; Dawson, 2005; Leiss et al., 2005).

To view consumer demand as cultivated and managed is not to pro­ mote the idea that consumers simply respond positively to whatever cor­ porate marketing strategy is employed. Consumers do actively exercise degrees of choice and make decisions about what goods and services to ' purchase, but they do so under conditions which are subject to a range of influences, prominent among which are those that emanate from manu- . facturers of products and the work of cultural intermediaries in prod­ uct design and marketing. The logic of economic growth necessitates continual production of, what are represented as and appear as, 'new' goods, a status which may derive from physical or technological innova­ tions in design, function, and/or performance, as well as aesthetic devel­ opments in respect of appearance, styling, and packaging. Marketing' and product management seek to influence consumers in respect of the things they desire, wish to own, and most importantly choose to pur­ chase, and the frequency with which they do so. The aim is to ensure < • , that consumers do not et too) attached to a s ecific fashion or rod­ uct or an len th of time and to this end innovations in desi nand' stye, new performance features, and new roducts are per etuall being promote t rou h enticin a vertlsing images and persuasive m' r et­ mg techniques, the intention bein to continuall re enerate consumer

eSlres an stImulate interest in urchasin the new . . s becom­ ing aval a e. ppropnately marketed as the latest, fashionable, more con. temporary looking, or 'better' designed, the new products, represented as possessing different features, additional functions, and other potentialljl appealing attributes, almost inevitably make existing comparable com­ modities, the ones already owned, appear tired, old, obsolescent, and i J need of replacement, which they are, over and over again, by persuade individuals, most of us, for whom life is increasingly all-consuming.

, Notes 1. Apple's environmental policy is outlined in 'A Greener Apple' (http://www.apple.co

hotnews/agreenerapple/). (retrieved I July 2009)

109

; le' (http://www.apple.com!

DESIGNING OBSOLESCENCE, PROMOTING CONSUMER DEMAND

2. In 2009, in the midst of the global economic recession Topshop entered the American market. Although it was described as 'the worst possible time to open a fashion store' shoppers were reported to have queued for up to five hours in anticipation of the opening of Topshop in Manhattan. Once again the consumer appeal of celebrity was employed to launch the brand, but rather than appearing in a window display, for this event Kate Moss appeared alongside the owner Sir Philip Green 'standing on a podium decorated with crowns and the Union flag' in the SoHo superstore (Clark, 2009).

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