What Beliefs Are We Buying?
Imagine a beer commercial running during the Super Bowl. Let’s call it Dub Beer. Its message is:
Classic Chappelle show skit for Samuel Jackson Beer. Highly suggest you look it up.
“Dub Beer will get ya drunk! It will make ya feel good! It will take away all your problems…”
It’s not likely an ad like this would ever run. In advertising, there is the idea of selling the product’s product’s product. Liquor and beer advertisers are not marketing the liquid itself, the product. Nor are they selling the physical effects that it will produce, the product’s product. What is being sold to us is the fulfillment of basic needs and desires. This is the product’s product’s product.
Alcohol marketing plays on our intrinsic human desires and promises to fulfill them. Corporations hire teams of psychologists and marketers to understand the inner workings of the psyche. They know what motivates you. They know we are social beings deeply hardwired to seek belonging, status, love, and meaning.
Consider this: for millennia, banishment from the tribe meant death. Even though the majority of humans don’t face exile nowadays, it is still a huge motivator of our thoughts and actions. Now think of how heavily this basic longing is coupled with alcohol by advertisers.
Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercial last in 2021 was an amazing piece of marketing. The product’s product’s product it was selling was personal connection, acceptance, and understanding. The tagline of the commercial was, “Let’s grab a beer.” It is a genius ad that hits all the human psychological high notes. Even though I think it is brilliant, I also think it is disgusting and manipulative.
Ad executives are more clever than we know. Billions of dollars are spent by alcohol companies each year on ads that bombard us with the ideas of fun, belonging, relief, or status enhancement. What these ads won’t show you is the depression and apathy and wasted days and lost memories and damaged relationships caused by alcohol.
What if our hypothetical commercial continued with an honest account of the reality for millions of people who drink:
“More than likely Dub will make you say something awful and do something embarrassing you regret. Dub will also make you feel like shit the next day. Plus, when you drink enough of Dub, you will become psychologically and physically addicted! You will most certainly have rapidly declining health. You might even wind up in jail! Enjoy Dub Beer! Drink Responsibly.”
As a culture, we readily accept ads and memes like “It’s five o’clock somewhere” or “You’re not drinking alone if your kids are at home” or “Let’s grab a beer.” But what happens if we question accepted social beliefs in general and alcohol advertisements in particular? What happens when we ask if alcohol can truly deliver on its promises? What happens when we question the messages that are thrown at our subconscious mind hundreds of times a day?
How could I not throw this reference in here? Name that movie!
We can apply mindfulness and take notice of what and how things are being sold to us. Once we start seeing through the smoke and mirrors, we can begin recognizing the patterns and tools used on us. We can then better understand our own subconscious behaviors, habits, and drives. We can dig to the bottom of our belief structure and make real and lasting changes for ourselves.
We are adults that do not have to be told how we need to feel or look or act. We don’t need to be told that mere things will give us purpose and status and belonging. We have the power and responsibility within us to find for ourselves what truly matters, what we hold dear, and what brings fulfillment.
Let’s ask ourselves what role alcohol has truly been playing in our lives and whether or not it is serving us. Let’s decide for ourselves if what we are told about alcohol by advertisers, marketing executives, and society is true. Let’s give ourselves the opportunity to uncover and remake the foundations of our beliefs instead of buying someone else’s.
P.S.
I know how it feels to even think about reaching out to someone. It doesn’t mean you are weak or broken. It shows you dare to change your own life.
I am happy to coach you on this topic, and I have spots open. You can schedule a free and completely confidential call by clicking here. There is no obligation in this call. We will discuss where you are, where you would like to be, and if you think working with me would be a good fit. I look forward to hearing from you.
If you would like to get in touch with yourself and see the world through a different lens try my free seven-day journal course, Get Your Bearings. It is something that I am very proud to share with you and would love to know what you think about it.
