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Bridgette Rowe
Turner-Reed
07 May 2015
Happy Buying, Happy Living
Happily married, Jane Smith turns on the television to watch her favorite soap opera. As
the commercial break starts, Janes eyes wander around her one story, three bedroom house
while her ears remain fixated on the commercials. Looking around, Jane wonders if she has all
she needs. Materialistic goods are becoming more than extras in peoples lives; they are
becoming objects worthy of human attention. The audience begins to compare their lives with
those portrayed in 30 second time slots on TV. Television advertising influences individuals
perceptions of life and their materialistic happiness.
Consumer culture is introduced into Americans lives through the history of the United
States. After almost 250 years, Americans are still influenced by the idea of the American
Dream. The American Dream suggests it is Gods given right for equal opportunities for all.
European immigrants saw materialistic advancements in America and began migrating to the
New World in hopes of a better life. Immigrants strived to gain personal advancement in
materials rather than striving to be personally satisfied. They constantly worked to better their
equity, leaving them little personal time. As individuals spend more time working they decrease
the opportunities for individual satisfaction and sub sequentially lower their happiness. There
will always be a new materialistic good; Americans will never settle until they have everything.
The history of the United States influences individuals personal consumerism while the
history of social interactions influences the society of America. Family, friends, and others are
individuals who influence the materialistic happiness of a consuming individual (Atay et al.

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225). As people spend more time with others they begin to form group norms. Individuals are
then striving to follow norms of the groups and obtain the same products or other products. After
researching both the communication structures of families and peers to adolescents, Churchill
and Moschis conclude, The greater the social influence the higher the materialism (qtd. In
Atay et al. 226). As children grow, they are majorly influenced by the social structures around
them; when children are formed into group norms at a young age, they will most likely remain in
that group for the remainder of their life. Increasingly involving materialism in an adolescents
life will create a demand for the need to fill that consumerism. Children who are exposed to
television advertisements can be formed into a group norm that encourages social interaction. As
groups of individuals are advertised on television with a product and smiles painted on their
faces, viewers begin to socially tie their lives into the advertisement and imagine themselves
with the product. Children can see advertisements as a way to gain social acceptance. When a
child sees a new toy advertisement with one child gaining greater social popularity, the children
begin to materialize the idea of social interaction and strive to have the greatest social ties and be
the most popular. Television advertisement encourages individuals greater need for satisfaction
in life through social acceptance rather than personal acceptance.
Satisfaction in life can be obtained through other means than greater social acceptance.
Environmental factors such as health, job, and standard of living influence the conditions to
determine satisfaction; advertisements on television encourage a need for materials to be happy.
The more satisfied individuals are with their standard of living, they more satisfied they are in
life (Sirgy et al. 126). Individuals become fixated on creating an environment that will fulfill
their materialistic goods to meet the acceptable standard of living. Standard of living is measured
by the ratio of real Gross Domestic Product to the population. Comparing individuals goods to

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the greater good creates a demand for individuals to have the best goods available, implying that
with those goods they can meet their standard of living and be materialistically happy.
Individuals then compare themselves to reference groups in order to maintain the appropriate
standard of living. The more favorable ones life is to the reference groups, the more satisfied
they are. When individuals fail to meet the materialistic goods of the group, they become
dissatisfied with life. Television advertisement shows viewers the variety of materials individuals
could obtain to improve their happiness. For example, Hillshire Farms Go Meat commercials
target families and show the social happiness they can gain by buying their products. As the
television neighborhood comes together in barbequing and joyfully singing, viewers examine
their lives and their lack of neighborhood comradery. A neighborhood picnic, with Hillshire
Farms meat, is planned and the viewer begins to create happiness based on a product.
Individuals are no longer satisfied with their original standard of living; they are driven to
consumerism through advertisements.
Television advertisements also focus on the environmentally influential role of the female
viewer to promote consumerism. Kwak, Zinkhan, and Dominicks study summarizes the idea of
females being the major target for commercials due to the females compulsive buying
tendencies (87). Women are more likely to purchase more goods due to the environments
influence on the structure of the family. Prior to the 21st century, males were categorized as the
breadwinners while females stayed home to tend to the house. For this reason, females were
more likely to do the household shopping. Thus, the idea of them being compulsive buyers was
created by societys ideas of the socially acceptable buying tendencies. Advertisement agencies
in television began to see females as a target market. Products for males are aired during the day
time to attract homebound wives to buy the latest good for their husband. In addition, females are

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actively watching more television shows that were originally targeted for males. For example,
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is originally targeted for men; with almost 40% of the
viewing audience being female, television advertisements for feminine products are now being
aired during the WWE matches (Kwak, Zinkhan, and Dominick 88). With a diverse gender
viewing audience, television advertising is splitting time between female and male ads to further
engage with the consumer audience.
In addition to a female target audience, television advertising agencies focuses on the
emotional connection of the viewer to evoke the consumer. Violence is portrayed in 60% of
television shows (Kwak et. al 57). With a majority of shows involving violence, ads are used to
emotionally engage the audience to influence their materialistic happiness. When viewers watch
crime shows, they are more emotionally attached due to the internal happiness and distress for
the characters on television and are more likely to respond greater to an advertisement presented
to them (Mai and Schoeller 57). As viewers watch their favorite character get kidnapped, they
are emotionally attached to what they are watching. When an advertisement cuts into the run
time of the moment, the viewer is currently engaged in what is on television because they are
searching for reassurance within their show. To further arouse emotions, advertisement in
television is used to put emotional stress on the viewer causing a less satisfied life and increasing
need for materialistic goods. Advertising is used to show the audience what they do not have
(Belk and Pollay 51). Envy influences the individuals perception of happiness; when they do not
have a specific good they become less satisfied. Advertisement constantly reminds viewers of the
goods they do not possess. The audience no longer takes into account what they do have; they
focus on what they do not have. In addition, passive and non-generous emotions emerge as the
consumer is looking to further advance their own personal life rather than trying to help others.

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An envious emotion, in television advertisement, promotes self-satisfaction through
consumerism.
Using emotions, target audiences, and group norms, television advertisement creates
standards of happiness in the American consumer society. Television viewers watch fake smiles
in between their favorite shows airtime and compare their lives to what is being showed. As
society structures their lives around materialistic goods, individuals are allowing their
satisfaction in life to be controlled through consumerism. People are capable of personal
satisfaction and should not rely on the latest gadgets to better themselves; after all, money does
not buy happiness.

Works Cited

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Atay, Eda Gurel, et al. Extending the Research in Relation to Materialism and Life
Satisfaction. Advances in Consumer Research 36 (2009): 225-233. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 19 April 2015.
Belk, Russel W., and Richard W. Pollay. The Good Life in Twentieth Century US Advertising.
Media Information Australia 46 (1987): 51-57. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 April
2015.
Kwak, Hyokjin, George M. Zinkhan, Joseph R. Dominick. The Moderating Role of Gender and
Compulsive Buying Tendencies in the Cultivation Effects of TV shows and TV
Advertising: A Cross Cultural Study Between the United States and South Korea. Media
Psychology 4 (2002): 77-111. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 April 2015.
Mai, Li-Wei, and Georgia Schoeller. Emotions, Attitudes, and Memorability associated with
TV Commercials. Journal of Targeting, Measurement, and Analysis for Marketing 17.1
(2009): 55-63. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 April 2015.
Sirgy, M. Joseph, et al. Does Television Viewership Play a Role in the Perception of Quality of
Life? Journal of Advertising 27.1 (1998): 125-142. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19
April 2015.