What day of the year is completely loved and embraced by half the nation, but loathed, and despised by the other half? You got it, Valentine's Day. For those of you who are fortunate enough to have a significant other, you take this opportunity to find something special to purchase for your sweetheart. You fret for days trying to find the perfect gift that is unique to your loved one. Because not all of us enjoy February 14th, lets talk about a holiday that we can all relate to, Mother's Day. What a great day to show appreciation to the women who gave us life and in return we gave them headaches. Although most of these holidays originate in some past tradition, they are now known as "Hallmark Holidays". It seems that American consumerism has fallen for one of the biggest tricks in history.
The Hallmark Company is a marketing genius as they have commercialized several holidays that bring people nationwide to their store to purchase items for loved ones. On the Hallmark website, there is a list of rankings for the number of cards sold at each holiday in the year. Christmas is naturally the highest with 2.1 billion cards purchased, but what comes in second third, and fourth place? You guessed it. Valentine's Day is second with 191 million cards sold, followed by Mother's Day, and then Father's Day. It is to the point where these are not "optional" holidays. If you were to forget to buy a gift for your girlfriend on the day of love or a card for you mother on Mother's day, you would be in big trouble for the next year. CNNMoney.com reported that in 2007, the average male was planning on spending an average of $156.22 and women were planning to spend $85.08 on their significant other for Valentine gifts and festivities. We, as Americans, have fallen into the snare of consumer holidays. These holidays seem to give us a reason or excuse for extra expenditures.
I guess for me, the most alarming thing about this whole ordeal is that we have allowed a company to market a consumer holiday that we willingly put out masses of money to support. We feel obligated to spend money on our loved ones for these occasions. We are even guilted into thinking that if we do not spend money on gifts for these days we are "not showing our love and devotion" to our loved ones. How did we get to this point? Are there other instances where American consumers have fallen into this mass marketing trap?
(CNNMoney.com. "Men big spenders for Valentine's Day." 8 Feb 2007. http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/30/news/economy/valentine spending/index.htm
Hallmark. 2007-2009. http://corporate.hallmark.com/Holiday)
27 comments:
I think this whole thing goes back to entrepreneurs. One guy said I need to make some money. Hey, there's this Saint Valentines I heard my mom talk about the other day. Hmm...I'm going to start up a business. And, now we have angry women and confused men throughout the country very upset with this one man, who, did in fact earn millions upon millions for his genius idea. And what better why to compete with the Jones' than to have this holiday for us to prove, in the dollar amount, how much we love our loved ones.
Along with these wonderful holidays, I can think of the necessary "back to school" shopping days because I didn't want to be caught in last year's shoes. How did that get started? One smart man decided his company would have a sale in honor of school starting. This, to the horror of all mothers, turned into a fashion show for their kids the first week. Then when the second week rolled around, there was nothing to wear...back to last year's stuff....
I think we got to this point because we are a consumerist society. In order to be happy, we need to have more, and in order to make others happy we need to give more, and the more we give, the happier we all are. Are there other ways where this has happened? Yes. It's fashion. We have all convinced ourselves that in order to fit in and be hip, we have to be wearing the coolest new fads. And that's not just in clothes either; it also includes accessories, phones, and yes my friends, the iPod (and lest we forget, accessories for our iPod).
I think competition got us to this point. At least for males. One guy buys his wife some nice earrings, his coworker gets her the earrings AND a bracelet. I don't think this is the only factor, but I think it plays a part. No husband wants his wife to go to school/work/wherever and see all of her friends with new stuff they got for Valentine's Day and not be able to have something to compare or talk about. Gifts aren't a true measure of how much we care about someone, but they are one way to measure it.
When I think of strictly consumer-based holidays, I think of halloween. The other holidays have good morals, such as remembering Jesus, giving thanks, and showing love. What's the message of halloween? Making yourself look like a freak and mooching off people? I understand that it's fun, but really wonder if there's truly any good justification for the large amount of money spent. I guess it's good for retailers.
i think the trend in "comodifying" everything like we talked about in class has led to the consumerism of holidays. people feel like spending more shows that they care more, as is sometimes the case with parents spoiling their kids, etc.
When I see I giant diamond ring on a girls finger, I don't say to myself, "Boy, her husband must really love her." Rather, and I think this is safe to assume, most people would look at it and think, "She's married to a rich guy." Now, a guy who wakes up to drive his wife to her early morning class every day...that's legit.
This article made me think of Hannukah. My parents are Jewish (and have since joined the church) However, they have told me many stories about growing up and the Jewish Holidays. When they were young, Hannukah was not celebrated with lots of gifts. It happens to occur at a similar time as Christmas every year. As the many Christian kids started to get many presents from Santa, my parents felt bad because they did not get gifts for their holiday that took place at the same time! Now, Hannukah brings many gifts to Jewish kids in the states and the only real reason is that Christian kids were getting gifts and Jewish ones weren't so the Jewish parents started buying them! Was this an advertising scheme? I don't know. However, it is funny to think of how traditions can start.
I would be curious to see if this were the original intention of the Hallmark Company. Did they plan to make every holiday so important? If they did, is it really that problematic? Regardless of the money that we spend on our significant other, mother, father, etc for all these holidays, hasn't it also been nice for Hallmark and other companies to help facilitate a way to show our appreciation to these people? Maybe I have been trapped into this mass marketing technique, but perhaps it's not a bad trap to be in.
I think we got here because we're such a materialistic society. It doesn't matter what you do in life anymore, it matters what you get and what you give. Gifts, cards, and other things that you shower loved ones with mean nothing and everything at the same time. Society has convinced everyone that you have to get the best present to out-do the next person. Going back to the previous comment about Hannukah...One of my best friends from home is Jewish, but her family celebrates Christmas too just to get the gifts..Even though both of her parents are Jewish. Materialism has convinced us to buy everything and compete with everybody.
Another holiday I thought of was Cinco de Mayo. It's a holiday that originates in Mexico, yet the majority of the Mexican population do little to celebrate. Here in the US, on the other hand...
It's been interesting to notice greeting cards and other decorations that are now being sold for this holiday.
Now that I think about it though, Cinco de Mayo is probably more of a "Budweiser holiday" than a "Hallmark holiday." An interesting question would be to see what other holidays or events have become "Budweiser holidays;" I can already think of quite a few.
Hey, I appreciate the stats and ourside sources you brought in. That was cool. I think there are pelent of holidays that Americans have fallen into a marketing trap. Obviously there is Christmas and Halloween, but we also HAVE TO BBQ on the fourth of July, eat Turkey and watch football on Thanksgiving, go skiing on Memorial Day, go to Disney Land at least once in our lives, eat pizza and rent a movie on Fridays, and so on. I think there is a culture that advertisers have tapped into and taken advantage of, but I wouldn't dubb it as a trap they've set. I think the problem comes when they toy with phsycological needs (longing to belong, sex, etc), but when they tap into the holiday or vacation market, more power to them, they found a good nihe.
I'm all for outlawing Valentine's Day. I mean let's face it...the misery experienced by the lonely half of the population has to far exceed the joy experienced by the lucky half... Right? Anyway, it is intriguing the way Hallmark has capitalized on Holidays, turning something that should be sincere into a moneymaking venture. I feel as if some people try to buy their guilt away these days. As long as he spends money on you he's in the clear. On a less cynical note, however, maybe the owners of Hallmark saw a great opportunity to help people show their love or appreciation. Obviously no one has ever started a business with completely philanthropic motives, but I think they should be cut some slack.
I agree with Erica (above). Advertisers didn't create the traditions, etc. that we have now--although they may have enhanced them--the culture existed and the advertisers found it and capitalized on it. Can't blame them for being capitalistic, since that's the society we live in.
Not that I agree with Hallmark or other companies for commercializing certain holidays, but you certainly cant blame them for doing it. They saw a way to increase their business, and to a large extent they have succeeded. A pretty big example of this is DeBeers and engagement rings. Diamond rings became the standard only after DeBeers began a campaign announcing them as such. They were able to shift public view to the point that buying diamond rings is now an accepted norm, where as before that tradition didn't exist.
I believe it was Emerson who said that things are not gifts, but merely apologies for gifts because the only true gift is a portion of oneself. I think in the age of convenience and immediacy that thought has been lost. we don't think we have the time to create personal gifts, so we have allowed Hallmark to do the thinking (and feeling) for us. We can give a "thoughtful" gift by simply stopping at the mall, picking the right card, buying some flowers and a hug. I think our busy schedules are to blame, and the marketing minds at Hallmark took advantage of it and made our dependence that much greater.
I think this has happened because our society has turned into a very consuming one. There is no way that you can just call you Mom now and say Happy Mother's Day...I mean yeah you could do that, but if you throw in something bought it will more special, hands down! Plus, I agree with the materialistic comment. That pretty much goes with what I've already said, but really, something is better than nothing in this present society.
Our society has gotten to this point because we are always "on-the-go". We love fast food, quick meals, fast internet connection, and access to the things we want and need. If we don't have them now, then we become somewhat irritable. I think that fact has contributed to our dependency on these cards for holidays, that it is just easier to buy a card instead of creating another way to say "I love you" that is more personal.
Another mass marketing tap could be the "birthday". They are year round, 365 days a year and are at different times for everyone. Think about what is expected to be at a birthday party now. A card, cake, several presents, more food, a gift bag for those attending, games, fun, pony rides, petting zoos, etc. It doesn't help that MTV hosts a show entitled, "My Super Sweet Sixteen". All the birthday sales probably exceed that of Christmas, Valentine's. Mother's Day, and Father's Day. That is where the money is at for Hallmark.
I would have to agree with the previous posts about competition. Who got the better Valentines present from their significant other? Who got Mom the best thing for Mother's Day? I think it all comes down to wanting to compete with one another and ultimately come out on top. Mankind is jealous and competitive by nature and I feel that this category is not exempt from such behavior. Hallmark and other similar companies are just the benefactors!
Like mammals, society evolves and progresses. Things change (thank you Barack Obama. Change). We have morphed into a capitalistic consumerist society. Holidays aren't what they used to be. (*See Skyler's synopsis of Halloween above) Hallmark is a pioneer among marketers that has capitalized on American culture. Can you blame them?
Whether or not it's a good thing or a bad thing, I know not. But it's America. God bless the U.S.A.
It's nice to get a gift for someone but for me I hate shopping. I am sure that most guys are the same way. I can see how advertising at these times of years can have a powerful effect on guys. These ads show the emotions that come from giving a gift so the consumer may want that same emotion for the person they are giving a gift to.
I agree with the idea that “Hallmark Holidays” developed or were created by store owners looking to capitalize on a specific event or rather seeing the holiday as a good way to market their product.
In some cases store owners are forced into the same position as consumers. Their stance is opposite in that instead of spending on certain holidays they must makes sales or else it will be difficult to survive. My oldest brother is a goldsmith in Boise Idaho and owns his own jewelry store. (diamondsfinejewelry.com) for those that are interested. It is small and family owned. He neither contributed to the initial idea of buying jewelry for Christmas / valentines, nor the idea that engagement rings should include a diamond. However, nearly ¼ of his sales come in the Christmas season meaning that those companies that created hallmark holidays, and those affected, usually need them to survive as a business.
One thing that sure doesn't slow down the consumerism for each holiday is how stores will anticipate each holiday earlier each year. It seems like the next holiday's candy and decorations are put on display the week of the current holiday (or earlier?!). By Jan. 1st, store aisles were pink and covered in hearts, and I would bet that by the middle of February it will all change to green shamrocks. Consumers are pushed earlier each year to consider each holiday and start buying whatever they need to celebrate it.
I do agree that it sometimes seems that Hallmark formulated holidays just to generate revenue. However, I really do enjoy giving and receiving cards - mostly because of what's written inside.
I think the most important thing to keep in mind when holidays come around is to give not what you think is expected, but what you know the other person wants. And how do you find that out? Just ask. People will be tickled that you care to give them what they want in life.
Scott (above) brings up something I've thought about periodically over the past year. He's right in saying that holidays become marketable sooner and sooner every year. I remember from my childhood, however, that the decorations in Albertson's didn't turn to Halloween until the first week of October and weren't lined with tinsel for Christmas until the first week of December. So I ask myself, when in the progression of holiday marketing going to stop? I want to know what you all think. Will the day come that Christmas decorations go up before Halloween decorations come down?
It always amazes me how much candy and other decorations stores can manage to come up with for each holiday. Its getting to the point where there is almost never a break and we are always celebrating something. I totally agree with the comments above that it is getting ridiculous that holidays are now overlapping each other in when stores bring out the decorations for them. I remember my boss listening to Christmas music in October and knew something was desperately wrong that picture.
We live in a capitalist country. Whether we want or not, every opportunity the industry has to make a move and create profit, it will. There is no doubt that these holidays: valentines', mothers', and fathers' day were all created with the intention on generating consumption. Where I come from, Brazil, we even have children's day (October,12) and for kids this is a major holiday - it is like you have the right to ask for whatever gift you want. And seriously, what is the point of children's day, besides to sell toys? So now that we realized this, the question should be.. what are we going to do about it? I mean, just because it is valentines' day, that doesn't mean I am buying something for my husband. I might cook us a special dinner, but just because someone said I need to buy something for him, doesn't mean I am really going to. I think I can create a different tradition at my home that doesn't involve money spending...
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