Is it that sports car you've always wanted? Or that new dress? Maybe your computer? Perhaps that bottle of wine? A big house? International travel? A Jacuzzi? A beach house? Camera? A weekend in Las Vegas? The possibilities are endless…
With mass production and the need to differentiate products, we have made a luxurious version of every possible product and service. Just a few examples:
Car = Ferrari, Wine = Bordeaux, Shoes = Prada, Purse = Louis Vuitton, Dress = Gucci, Sunglasses = Ray Ban, Whiskey = McGraham, Coffee = Nespresso,Watch = Rolex, Sports clothes = Nike, Headphones = Beats, Cellphone = Iphone, Beer = Stella Artois, Champagne = Moët & Chandon, Vacation = Paris, Relaxing weekend = Spa Resort... The list goes on, but now you see where I'm going with this.
Today, luxury is in everything, in our dreams and in our everyday life. The likelihood is that you know all or at least the vast majority of the brands that I have mentioned above. That’s because luxury is a global language.
In the last century, the rise of income in many parts of the world caused the "Democratization of Luxury", which simply means that luxury went mainstream. The perks that used to be accessible only to kings and queens, or the elite, became available to all. With more disposable income available, many people started joining the "good life". Of course, these products are available for a price tag, but even if you can't afford it, these days you can always put it on your credit card or take out a loan or lease. The important thing is to live the dream. Luxury companies, once used to cater solely to a certain type of customer, quickly adapted. After all, selling more products sounds like a solid business plan.
Something about our inner selves just loves being pampered, and companies get to profit from that. As an advertising executive put it: "Ads don't always mirror how people are acting, but how they are dreaming. In a sense, it’s wrapping up your emotions and selling them back to you."
Just think about it. It’s pretty hard to justify logically why we would pay a premium for paper towel, sunglasses, or a sports shirt...but we do it. Luxury companies are great storytellers, and we want to buy our way into the dream that they are selling.
James Twitchell in Living it up: America's Love Affair With Luxury, said that while buying stuff doesn't make us happy (long term), not buying it makes us unhappy. Research shows that buying does make us happy on the short-term. Maybe that's why we keep on buying: we want to keep getting that quick fix.
Twitchell also says that we are so overexposed to luxury that the word even loses a little bit of its meaning. After all, luxury is meant to be rare. Will the idea of luxury soon fade away, since it’s no longer as special?
Certainly not. It might shape into new forms, but it won’t cease to exist. Like I said, we enjoy being pampered way too much to let go of it.
Thanks for reading!
Best,
Pedro
No comments:
Post a Comment