Corporate Persuasion

A recent study found that children preferred food packaged in McDonald's bag, regardless of the contents. For instance, carrots (a child's favorite food--ha!) presented in a McDonald's bag were accepted and eaten by children, but without the bag, children rejected the carrots. It seems that McDonald's has developed a positive image by eating its food--no surprise there. Their huge ad campaign always shows people enjoying their model sandwiches (How often have you had a Big Mac that even resembles the one in the commercial). Eventually, the thought of eating McDonald's is positive, and it makes their food appealing. What you should ask when you see a commercial for any food is the following: why does this company need to advertise its product? You might realize that it has something to do with the lack of a true need for that product. The company invests in making their product appealing, so you will buy it even if it isn't necessary to have it. Again, no big surprise, but rarely are these thoughts in mind when we watch commercials or search for food in the grocery store. These company's are catering to society's overwhelming concern of self-image--you should buy this product, because it will improve your self-image.

Another upset followed the release of Apple's new iPod Touch, which essentially is an iPhone without the phone and a few other applications. Cool idea, right? Sort of. While I like the idea of having a touch-screen iPod, the limited hard drive space (up to 16GB as compared with the iPod classic 160GB) is a disappointment. It seems the company probably chose to have a thinner iPod, so they sacrificed the hard drive capacity. However, a new partnership with Starbucks is particularly annoying. Now, Starbucks stores will broadcast its playlist to your iPod Touch via WiFi. You can instantly connect to iTunes with the WiFi card in the iPod Touch and purchase a song from that list. Apple has made it even easier (well, you have to initially cough up the $300 for the iPod Touch or $400 for the iPhone) to purchase from iTunes over WiFi. What's the benefit for Starbucks out of this partnership? Do you have to purchase a cup of coffee to see the playlist? Maybe iPod Touch owners will increase their frequency to Starbucks to see the new, hip playlist. There is something appealing about the aura of a coffee shop, but I am not sure you can capture that appeal by having the same playlist pumping into your ears.

"Schoolhouse Crock"

An article by Peter Schrag appeared in the September 2007 issue of Harper's Magazine titled "Schoolhouse Crock: Fifty Years of Blaming America's Educational System for Our Stupidity" (Note:  This link requires a subscription to read the article.).  Schrag's credentials did not accompany his article, but a note indicates that he has written two books regarding America's education system.  Thus, the claims offered by Schrag could result from observation rather than elaborate experimentation and investigation.  Nonetheless, his claims feel compatible with what has happened over the last 50 years.

Schrag points immediately to the Russian launch of Sputnik to begin his argument.  He posits that this event forced Americans to doubt their education system, which had publicly been deemed questionable in recent years.  The fear of another country possessing mental-superiority frightened Americans; to abate this fear it is concluded that the education system must be reformed to guarantee America's mental hegemony.  The essay follows the government's participation in the design and redesign of America's classrooms and observes the common feeling that the education system of the last generation saw much more success, yet Schrag reports that people have always questioned the template of the present-day education system.  

Schrag's essay centers on the premise of education reform as a means to resolve present-day obstacles, which unchecked or unnoticed will persist for future generations--or so we think.  He ends with a clever, succinct summary: "[p]erhaps it is time we thought of schools as places where our children might simply learn something--not just for our benefit, not for the nation's, but for their own."