Give Me What I Want! - Advertising for Sustainability
Mike Catherall
January 26, 2006
When talking sustainability, it is important to put yourself in the mindset of the regular consumer.
The average person would choose sustainable products and services over their regular choices given the opportunity. They would.
But convenience and price play a big factor.
Money is tight. People are busy. Discovering other options takes work.
But the average consumer is not completely in the dark.
Most people go around with a residual amount of guilt for using non-recycled paper and chemical cleaners and buying from Wal-Mart. It isn’t like they don’t care, it is just that it is easier, and less painful, to block out the long-term consequences than to drive around town to fill out a shopping list.
People are not malicious or capricious in doing so, they are just trying to make ends meet and get things done.
Although it is ultimately the responsibility of the consumer to set a sustainable pattern of consumption in motion – the reality is that we live in a world where we have been coddled to by comfortable and reliable brands for a hundred years. And we are not about to sacrifice comfort for discomfort. (I’m talking about the average consumer here) Because in the end, ideology takes a second seat to survival and survival can be exhausting when you have mouths to feed, insurance to pay, a mortgage to appease, teeth to fill and debts to quench.
That said, the onus of setting a sustainable pattern falls into the lap of the media, but the media has already done a lot, so this puts the burden onto the shoulders of the makers of the products.
Give us food that tastes good, clothes that look cool, energy saving solutions that save us money, and give it to us quickly, effortlessly and with flair. This is what the average consumer demands from sustainability. And by gosh, they shall get it.
It will just take a little time, hype and hustle for people to catch on to the options available.
And that’s where we come in…
The average person would choose sustainable products and services over their regular choices given the opportunity. They would.
But convenience and price play a big factor.
Money is tight. People are busy. Discovering other options takes work.
But the average consumer is not completely in the dark.
Most people go around with a residual amount of guilt for using non-recycled paper and chemical cleaners and buying from Wal-Mart. It isn’t like they don’t care, it is just that it is easier, and less painful, to block out the long-term consequences than to drive around town to fill out a shopping list.
People are not malicious or capricious in doing so, they are just trying to make ends meet and get things done.
Although it is ultimately the responsibility of the consumer to set a sustainable pattern of consumption in motion – the reality is that we live in a world where we have been coddled to by comfortable and reliable brands for a hundred years. And we are not about to sacrifice comfort for discomfort. (I’m talking about the average consumer here) Because in the end, ideology takes a second seat to survival and survival can be exhausting when you have mouths to feed, insurance to pay, a mortgage to appease, teeth to fill and debts to quench.
That said, the onus of setting a sustainable pattern falls into the lap of the media, but the media has already done a lot, so this puts the burden onto the shoulders of the makers of the products.
Give us food that tastes good, clothes that look cool, energy saving solutions that save us money, and give it to us quickly, effortlessly and with flair. This is what the average consumer demands from sustainability. And by gosh, they shall get it.
It will just take a little time, hype and hustle for people to catch on to the options available.
And that’s where we come in…
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