Ya Got Trouble!

 The Music Man centers on Harold Hill, a creative entrepreneur who makes his living traveling to different towns selling an idea. His particular idea is music. One day, he finds himself in River City, Iowa (which looks eerily like Main St USA in Disneyland). He starts an uproarious song and dance over a brand new pool table that is sure to start trouble with a capitol T for this little town. Enter sales pitch! He makes the townsfolk believe their children are destined for a life of immorality if they do not find another way to keep them occupied.

The way this particular salesman sells his product is by instilling fear in people and making them think they need him and his product. By doing this, he is creating the demand for his supply of items. He is ensuring that what he has to sell will be the next big thing with this group of people.

This is a reflection of how mass media works in our world today. Whether it is in advertising for products, news or campaigns for political ideals, the idea of “need” is always present. When a group of people thinks they need something, even if it is just a need to look cool, they will strive to attain it.

Take any popular brand of anything and watch a commercial for it. You must buy it. It may benefit your health, your luck with the other sex, your popularity or your business. But what ever it is, the creators and advertisers know that you will buy it because you have this constant need to have.

If you use Old Spice, your cool factor will go out of the roof! This guy is the ultimate mans man, and you could smell just like him. Heck, you might even be able to do all the awesome things he does.

Even though this product doesn’t sell fear, it still sells an idea similar to that in Music Man. You, the consumer, NEED this product. Not everything that gets advertised like this makes it into popular culture, but when it is clever enough it often does. The Old Spice campaign has been parodied and discussed over and over again. This is how many things in society move into the pop culture realm. There is a demand created for something, however momentarily.

When you think about the mechanics behind media and pop culture, things start to seem fake and you may feel cynical about it. However, the power is still in the hands of the mass consumers of culture. Advertisers can have as many tricks up their sleeves as they want, but the human mind cannot ultimately be understood by an equation. Some things will catch on and become insanely popular, and some things will not. It all depends on the climate and mood of the society at a given time.