To think the message behind this advert is horrid?

[Thistledew]

PrimeLocation are running advertisements in print, on the TV and on the radio with the tag line "Find the Home You Deserve".

I find it problematic for two reasons:

1. All the adverts are about your dream home being a "reward" for "Building up a business", "Juggling conference calls", and "Battling belligerent boardroom warriors". Ok, it makes mention of balancing family life with work, but there seems to me to be a conspicuous absence of any references to your dream home being a "reward" for 'nursing people through all those nightshifts at the hospital', or 'years of unstinting service clearing waste from our streets', or 'teaching a generation of children'. The press release for the adverts states that they are aimed at an 'upmarket' audience - do people who are less 'upmarket' not deserve their dream home?

1. Secondly, does anyone really "Deserve" a "dream home"? Surely, everyone deserves a warm, dry and secure home, but I find the idea of "deserving" an 'upmarket' home problematic. For me (and I do own a nice home), it is a luxury that I am very fortunate to be able to have. I am fortunate that I had a decent education, parents who were able and willing to support my further education, and who raised me in a way that instilled me with the self-belief to go for and obtain a good, competitive job. Yes, I work hard, but it is a combination of this good fortune which means I am well paid for it. It doesn't mean that I "Deserve" any nicer home than someone who works just as hard in a low paid job.

Doesn't this advert just encourage the idea that seems to be so prevalent in our politics and society now, that if you are poor it is because you deserve to be? That the people who have money, nice houses, flashy cars have them because it is what they deserve?

Yes I thought the same op

I live in an area where the elderly are housed in pretty poor conditions, very little in the way of social clubs etc
Do these people also have the home they deserve??

I thought of how horrified half of MN would be at this when I saw it. It made my teeth itch...

there seems to me to be a conspicuous absence of any references to your dream home being a "reward" for 'nursing people through all those nightshifts at the hospital', or 'years of unstinting service clearing waste from our streets', or 'teaching a generation of children'.

If the price point PrimeLocation are advertising for is £500K upwards, then they target the demographic that can afford that market.

The press release for the adverts states that they are aimed at an 'upmarket' audience - do people who are less 'upmarket' not deserve their dream home?

No, they are simply targeting a particular market. They can position their products and services at whoever they choose. Bugatti, Ferrari, Pagani and Koenigsegg sell cars to people who can afford them, Rolex sell expensive watches, Coutts provide banking for rich people - they choose the markets they want to do business in, which markets to avoid and advertise accordingly.

do people who are less 'upmarket' not deserve their dream home?

Welcome to Capitalism.

WMittens - why not just say "Find the home you have worked hard for"? Targeting only high income brackets with their advert doesn't make the message any less repellant, but rather compounds it - "You can afford this luxury home because you deserve to have it".

I'd say they are just jumping on the 'you're worth it' theme.

It's an advert, it trying to persuade you, as with all advertising it falls apart quickly when subjected to any kind of rational analysis.

I find pretty much all adverts stupid, irritating and patronising...doesnt everyone?

It's an advert, it trying to persuade you, as with all advertising it falls apart quickly when subjected to any kind of rational analysis.

I find pretty much all adverts stupid, irritating and patronising...doesnt everyone?

This, absolutely.

adverts aren't trying to provide information, or promote social justice, they are trying to exploit weaknesses and persuade you to part with your money against your better judgement.

A quick rule of thumb...if you read it/heard it in an ad they are trying to bullshit you

Hey, if I 'deserve' the home, you're handing them out, right?

Is it just me, or does the 'you're worth it' message tap into an ever more socially acceptable sense of entitlement?

I'm not sure if the sense of entitlement is actually becoming more prevalent, but it sure does suit anyone trying to persuade us to buy more and more stuff which we dont really need!

I agree it's an extremely irritating advertisement, but then a hell of a lot of them are.

It is aimed at certain people in a certain income bracket and I image a large percentage of them will be in agreement with the idea that they deserve more than others.

Most ads are aspirational and a lot of them are selling some sort of dream or ideal, even if they're just advertising cheap yoghurt or shampoo. It's not meant to be real life. I think you're overthinking something that's not worth the analysis Thistledew. They just want your money. It's as simple as that.

Honestly?

YANBU.

But I do think you're overthinking it. It deserves nothing more than the OFF switch or rolly eyes... so YABU to think "I must post this on AIBU" because that alone gives it more thought that it should have.

BUT YANBU, because that's Mumsnet.

Turn off the telly, walk away from tinternet, go for a long walk, meet actual people, live.

I think actually, after many years of being on here, the same could be said for most AIBU threads.

I'm healthier when I stay away.

(But I like it)

I got a flat through prime location but I was a single mum on benefits at the time. I wondered why they didnt want me in the advert!