"I Like What It Says About Me"

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by Tim Thach

Late last year there was a run on some crummy "hemp" shopping bags in New York. On the outside of the bag was written some crummy slogan like "This ain't no plastic bag".

They sold like hot cakes. When the purchasers were asked why they bought them, the most popular response was "I like what it says about me."

I really couldn't figure out that response until today. I just got to chapter 2 of "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and Mr. Carnegie was pointing out peoples need to feel important. A real A-HA moment for me.

I recognize that participating in forums such as this one gives me a feeling of importance.

What I'm asking here is this. Can an individual recognize, categorize, and then change what he/she feels are the things which make them feel important?

Hi Tim,

I have to agree with Ankesh, the answer is Yes!

You can change what makes you feel important, and I'd say people do change this throughout the course of their lives...

You can change pretty much anything about your own psychology, I'd say. Though that doesn't mean it's always easy to do...

Back to the hemp shopping bags, I thought it was very interesting! Many people would buy the hemp shopping bags (without a slogan) for that reason, because it bolsters their identity as someone who is perhaps "environmentally-conscious", and maybe a little non-mainstream and "alternative". Then, the slogan, "This ain't no plastic bag", just bolsters that message much more strongly - leading to more sales!

Many people buy things to boost a particular self-identity. For example, people don't buy sports cars because they need to travel on the road really, really quickly. They buy sports cars because of the image that it gives them (their own self-image, and the image they want to convey to others). The same goes for name-brand clothing too! And many other things...

Here's another example of this that I found kind of wacky... Fake libraries of antique books!

They sell antique-looking leatherbound books - by the foot or by the yard! You can't even read them, since they're not in English!

But... they look great on the shelves! These books are purely about impressing other people...



http://www.boingboing.net/2008/05/28...ome-decor.html
http://www.bookdecor.com

Cheers,

Dien