Time for change

  The current idea of «globalization» would like to define the earth as one huge market which should be as uniform as possible. As the most important driving force behind this development, economics is constantly used to present this levelling process as a «natural» development or one which cannot be influenced. The mass media, which because of extensive privatization, has itself become part of the economy, has ever more refined means of influencing its customers and normally joins in strongly with this process.

On the other hand many people are less and less critical of the reporting of such events. Whatever appears on the TV screen, is presented in the newspapers or in books is perceived as «the truth» instead of as subjective reporting by the authors or presenters. More and more people take their objectives and values from the press instead of thinking for themselves. The blame for this cannot of course be simply passed on to the media, but rather within the meaning of self-determination or self-responsibility everyone bears the responsibility of whether he will accept external values or objectives and if so, which ones.

  Our goals lead us to the situation where we do certain things in our life and leave other things aside. We can therefore influence other people in a simple way, if we influence their objective or at least the choice of their partial goals. Our deep longing for peace, happiness, calmness and harmony – as described in the highest needs of all beings – is also at the same time our weakness.

In the advertising field this longing, which is deeply embedded in every one of us, is exploited in more and more refined ways: By linking a service or product with a blissfully happy person or a harmonious situation, it is suggested to the viewer that thanks to the use of this product you will become successful, beautiful, desirable, rich or whatever – and this will (also) make you happy. We have already dealt with this briefly in the section on the needs of humankind.

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In no other branch of industry are the needs of human beings so intensively investigated than in advertising. If it is known what the potential consumer group which purchases a given product or service really strives for, where these people set their highest priorities, it is possible to respond exactly to these needs in the advertising and hence earn lots of money!

The striving for harmony and happiness, for a life spent in love and peace is therefore frequently exploited in advertising: First we see a suffering person who has an affliction, an illness or a problem, then a product (pill, ointment, food, drink, car, washing powder, software, computer, telephone, holiday place etc.) and finally we see the same person who – thanks to the use of the product shown - is happy. Often too the happy person is shown together with the product. Just try sometime to deliberately observe how frequently the advertising messages are set up in this way regardless of the product on offer.

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