The Appeal of The Democracy of Goods Article Analysis Essay

In Roland Marchand’s article “The Appeal OF The Democracy Of Goods” he identifies the differences between the wealthy and the poor and how egalitarianism has been conveyed into the minds of many people. The wealthy people love to buy expensive products and live luxurious lives. People from the lower class have a very strong desire to buy luxury goods and want to live like the rich do. The advertisements these poor people view show a democracy of goods which is the promise that the quality of products will be the same whether it is distributed to a wealthy or poor person. The advertisements of goods are predominantly shown by celebrities in order to win over the money of those who are not in the wealthy class. Buying the products that a rich person has or a celebrity advertises brings people not from the wealthy class, satisfaction. The people who are not a part of the wealthy class are always brought into advertisements whether it is evident or not evident. In the 1920’s, mass production of products came into fruition which then led all of the social classes to enjoy the same products at the same quality.  Advertisements are always seeking to win over the conscience of people not of the wealthy class by showing what a product can do or by having someone from the wealthy class such as a celebrity endorse the product to these people. Today’s advertisement certainly uses portrayals of those who are not part of the wealthy class and they convey that the products used by the wealthy can and will provide someone with the most satisfaction. 

Mass production in the 1920’s enabled all of the social classes to enjoy the same products with the same quality in all of them. In Roland Marchand’s article he states that “democracy in terms of equal access to consumer products, these advertisements offered Americans an inviting vision of their society as on incontestable equality. This put the thought of egalitarianism in the mind of many Americans no matter the social class. It gave every person the chance to acquire some of the benefits, pleasures, and conveniences that the wealthy class has. Marchand also claims “any woman can…” and “every home can afford …” was to publicize an image of American Society in which concentrated wealth at the top of a hierarchy of social classes restricted no family’s opportunity to acquire the most desirable products.” Any family or anyone was able to enjoy the products they desired and they were very accessible. This strategy from the 1920’s known as “the concept of the Democracy of goods” brought those that are not of the wealthy class a sense of satisfaction knowing that they too can afford the products. 

Many advertisements that are presented to us today usually have a celebrity endorsing a product and they can be very convincing. I remember back in 2016, professional basketball player, Kobe Bryant, put out an advertisement on all platforms of the new video game called NBA 2K17. I certainly did not need this game, and was not going to get it until I saw that Kobe Bryant was endorsing it. Once I saw Kobe Bryant endorsing the product I knew I had to get it because of the fact that he was my idol. This is one of the very tactics that is used to acquire someone to buy a product. It most definitely worked on me. They had advertised this game on every platform you can think of. The main motivation for me buying this product was simply because Kobe Bryant was the one endorsing the product. In James J. In Farrell's article “Shopping: The Moral Ecology of Consumption” he brings up a famous cologne company and advertises it as “Need girls? Buy Brut.” This famous cologne company advertises itself through many platforms usually depicting a wealthy woman loving the way it smells. Simple advertising like that will attract anybody from any social class to want to buy the product. 

The products that the wealthy use are very luxurious and rich and if it were to be owned by anyone other than the wealthy class it would provide the most satisfaction. Marchand refers to a Chase and Sanborn’s Coffee advertisement that possesses an elegant butler serving a big family with all the riches they could desire but the coffee will taste the same to those of other social classes. This means no matter what you have in life, whether you drink this coffee in a luxurious house or a trailer house, it will always have the same great taste. A person of any social class will have the luxury of being able to taste what a wealthy person can taste. This is very true because I have the same basketball that the NBA uses in their games. Me being a middle class person I feel great that I use the same basketball that the professional NBA players use. It brings us back to the democracy of goods. All these products are equally accessible to anyone no matter the social class they are in. 

No matter what social class we are in, we all get to enjoy the same product. Advertising and marketing have different tools for getting their products out there. It is mostly brought to us by a celebrity or a person with a lot of wealth. The democracy of goods and services is the way that all the social classes get a chance to prosper. Those that are not of the wealthy class always seek to acquire what the wealthy class has, and once they acquire it they have a great satisfaction. In today's times products and services are advertised through many different platforms and are still advertised as they were back in the 1920’s with the strategy of using wealthy people. The wealthy always get to enjoy the luxury of many things but those same things will always have the same quality no matter the city, state, or nation we are in.