Authenticity Doesn’t Pay

But wait, there’s more!

I remember watching those TV advertisements as a kid. You know the ones — the offer just kept getting better and better. There where Ginsu Knives, the Slap Chop, some flashlight with a military grade beam strength (whatever that means) and a variety of non-stick pans with revolutionary coatings (that we eventually ingest as the coatings come off into our food over time).

The product didn’t really matter. The success of the commercial model was all in the anticipation and buildup. First, the announcer would demonstrate the product. Then he would throw in unexpected accessories. After that, the price would be slashed from what he told us we expected to pay. Last, he would make it a two for one deal if we called within the next ten minutes. BUT YOU MUST ACT NOW!

Each step in the process, the announcer lost credibility because he drastically improved the deal he just got finished offering. But we didn’t care. The deal got better! More for less! The announcer is the sucker, not me! By the time it was over, we were begging to pay $20 ($19.99 to be precise) for two pieces of crap with a combined manufacturing cost of $1.13.

I’m a capitalist. I believe capitalism is the only economic model with any chance of succeeding because of our intrinsic human instincts and insecurities. I also have a…