D#9,HW#6

Outline WP#3

Project’s Claim: That the need for consumers to buy new “unneeded” high technology is created by marketing and media.

Reason #1: The phenomenon is relatively new, developing with the spread/rising influence of media.

Principle: It gave rise in the 1980s with the introduction of the Cabbage Patch Kids.

Backing: We have several articles that cite this as the first instance of frenzy over a product. In this case, it’s a toy.

Evidence #1: Cabbage Patch Kids are the first example of a consumer product that people stood in line and fought over. This evidence is presented in the Encyclopedia of Pop Culture.

Backing: An encyclopedia is a trustworthy source.

Backing: It says that Cabbage Patch Kids are the first toys that created a market frenzy.

Evidence #2: Consumers tend to buy things they want, not that they necessarily need.

Principle: Consumers tend to buy what they are told to, not what they need.

Backing: The media tells you what you “need” to buy.

Evidence #3: The media helps create the frenzy around the holiday time.

Principle: An article in the Christian Science Monitor states that the frenzy around the Furby toy is driven by the media.

Backing: The article states that toy manufacturers can create demand for their product.

Backing: The buzz creates demand, even before “hot” toys are released.

Backing: When the media reports on those long lines/high demand, it creates even more demand.

Objections:
#1: Capitalism creates the demand (people sitting in line and then reselling the product for a profit).
Rebuttal: This is a good point. Still, it’s the marketing that creates the demand in the first place.

#2: There could be an underlying psychological need to buy.Rebuttal: Most of the “on the street” interviews did not capture that need to buy. While the disease (compulsive buying) does exist, it does not normally manifest itself in people waiting in lines for two days.