Peak middle class marketing

[kindlypudding]

I am in this demographic, but it fucking irritates me.
I suppose it could be called consumer class appropriation, how so many goods are aimed at the MC with taglines including factory workers, craftsmen, etc.

I look at a woolly hat, typical shop that I like and have purchased from, and there's a foot long description about the wool process. OK, we are the main target for ethical, climate related messaging, but it's beginning to feel cheap, worn out and fucking patronising.

Here's one from Navy&Grey -
"The wool arrives in Scotland by boat where it is spun and dyed on the banks of Loch Leven in Kinross by Todd & Duncan, one of the finest Scottish Mills which has been spinning yarn for 150+ years.
85% of the dyes used by Todd & Duncan are organic and the water used for washing and dyeing the wool is cleaned and purified before returning to Loch Leven to be used again".

And here's another from Toast -
"Established in 2009, Bleu de Chauffe, the name taken from French workwear jackets worn by 19th century factory workers..."

You could almost say it is a fetishisation of the working class, or at least pre war. It supposes I am thick headed, desperate to show my privileged, ethical plumes. I chose the bag quoted above because I love it, it has served me well and the softness of the strap reminds me of my old horse's reins long ago. This squarely places me within the target market, and whilst a lot of these products are beautiful, the cloying, oozingly false pretensions about the environment leave me cynical.
It's like when you read a Guardian article about capitalism and clothes, and all the commenters claim to only ever buy second hand and patch up their own repairs. This is great, but along come san actual poor person who has been doing that anyway for years. It feels like just another road to excessive consumption, but with a more insidious intent.

Not. Mocking both the pretentious marketing and, to a degree, the people who fall for it.

Some of whom are spectacularly humourless.

I so so agree with you OP about the fetishisation aspect - but I think it's about a small-scale industrial world where those little people took pride in their labour and 'craftsmanship' still existed - rather than actually wanting to be like the working classes. In other words, they're still selling luxury to the rich, it's just the goods are produced 'authentically' by naice and often British working class people, rather than robots and/or children in the developing world, which might make you feel a bit bad.

Authenticity has been the branding watchword for ten years or so - companies are constantly urged to 'be authentic' by gurus. Amazingly, that doesn't mean 'tell your audience you want as much profit for as little outlay as possible', which is what real authenticity would look like.

That one makes me laugh as well. Vegan leather, you mean plastic. Distinctly less appealing, but it amazes me how much you can pay for a plastic bag with the right logo.

@millymog11 The song is a razor sharp social protest and is timeless indeed. It always reminds me of Orwell who went homeless for a time, what was he thinking. I am more cringey at the idea that taking your children to a food bank or to buy food at the grocery store for a food donation affords them any real perspective of any other life than the one they are living. That some kinds of poverty tourism can give a lifelong perspective. I don’t know, maybe it does.

“The song is a social commentary on the commodification of the working-class lifestyle and how it can be seen as an exotic, attractive concept to those who have never lived it.

“Common People” is more than an ode to the working-class lifestyle. It’s a protest song, a statement against the fetishization of poverty, a call for equality, and a warning about the dangers of cultural appropriation. The lyrics are a critique of those who choose to immerse themselves in working-class culture while ignoring the systemic issues that working-class people face daily.

Furthermore, the song addresses the false meritocracy in society and how class privilege can shape an individual’s life opportunities. The lyrics describe the girl’s father’s wealth, which gives her the privilege to choose whether she wants to live like common people or not. This narrative reflects on society’s deeply ingrained classism that prevents social mobility, no matter how hardworking a person may be.”

"That one makes me laugh as well. Vegan leather, you mean plastic. Distinctly less appealing, but it amazes me how much you can pay for a plastic bag with the right logo"

Don't be so rude!

The vegan leather handbag was identifying as a leather handbag, you should have purchased it.

Good thread - know exactly what you mean - Toast, Labour & Wait etc ... I think this marketing taps into a very conservative nostalgia for "simpler times"

I sometimes buy lamb steaks of a specific brand, Silere, from Ocado (when they are on offer!). The blurb is just ridiculous:

SILERE, from the Latin 'to be silent', reflects the space, stillness and silence of New Zealand's alpine region. The breath-taking alpine landscape is home to the Merino lamb and a select group of farmers entrusted with the guardianship of this pristine place and its heritage breed. Long regarded for the quality of their fine wool, the exquisite flavour and character of Merino lamb has been a well-kept secret, until now. Truly free-range, Merino forage on the vast alpine grasslands of the South Island of New Zealand. Because the best things take time, Merino mature more slowly than other breeds, the golden tussock and wild mountain thyme naturally influencing flavour. That is the definition of taste, elevated.
A succulent, dusky red, well marbled lamb with subtle fragrant alpine notes, Distinctive layers of flavour giving a clean finish on the palate, Free Range Product of Alliance Since 1948

I don’t think the descriptions are aimed at the Middle Class in the way you say it is. The clothing industry is going through a massive shift and if you look at some of the leglislation that is due to come in soon you will see that brands are forcing themselves to become “transparent”. Even Primark, aimed at the working class is finding ways to market “where their products come from”

The reality is so many of us are so out of touch with where our clothes come from that brands need to spell it out and most are choosing to do this with a story!

Also why must you call these people “poor people” - did the label say “this is made by poor people”? The fact that your mind already disassociates your “class” and “standard of living” to whoever made your garment shows that there needs to be a mindset shift.

Tailors, seamstresses, owners of factories can be MC too. The reality is that our clothes these days are made somewhere far away that do not pay a fair wage.

Maybe there is no need for a story - the tag could simply say “made in a factory in Scotland” or “made by a weaver in Wales” or something. But this post highlights the little respect for garment makers.

Just why? Why do you buy imported lamb when we produce excellent lamb here? I'm actually gobsmacked

@Finestreason : I am more cringey at the idea that taking your children to a food bank or to buy food at the grocery store for a food donation affords them any real perspective of any other life than the one they are living.

I agree, if people just buy a can of beans to donate & think they've 'done' charitable giving. But when a food bank was set up in my nearest town, I was first shocked that it was necessary in a naice area; then when I wanted to donate & read what they wanted & why, & thought about what it's like when you haven't got access to a proper kitchen or can barely afford the fuel to cook, I was shocked out of my assumptions again. If that education is there, I think it can be valuable.

It's taking your children along to give to people face to face that sets my teeth on edge, especially if it's done for photo ops & social media boasting.

@ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea It was deleted just before I posted, yes people should be able to see what a contemptible person they are

It's marketing guff - I can't get too worked up by that.

I have a couple of Navy Grey jumpers and those South African sheep and world renowned Scottish loch spinners sure do produce a fine jumper. I bought the first jumper because of good reviews/style and the second one because of the quality of the first one. I like that they aren't made in a sweatshop.

Bang on. Product blurbs like this are so cleverly worded to dance around the hard truth of the process.

Just why? Why do you buy imported lamb when we produce excellent lamb here? I'm actually gobsmacked

Gobsmacked? Really?? New Zealand lamb is not exactly an unknown concept. About one third of lamb in the UK is imported, mostly from New Zealand. They have much more land available than we do. This is why we import many agricultural goods, including ones we can produce perfectly well.

If I'm honest, I didn't realise notice where it was from when I bought it, but I don't think it is very high up the scale of gobsmacking behaviour!

I love the song Common People, it hits the nail on the head.
Products made in Britain are still made in factories or by piecework at home. Which usually means a stressed out mum trying to work at home whilst looking after very young children. But that doesn't fit with the marketing guff.

Welsh lamb actually doesn't taste as good as NZ lamb because of their eating habits. Ours are fed nuts for part of the year, are far too young when slaughtered for Easter. They're not tasty until the autumn when they've been outdoors for six months. Our farming friends admit this but the market demands spring lamb. What can you do.

I know no one ever watches links but I’m not feeling well so I watched this one. Incredibly insightful social commentary (in this one video anyway). Wow.

But interestingly she primarily focuses on the poverty appropriation within the USA. She has inspired me to do some more reading about this currently here in the U.K.

Although I think the original post conflated a marketing blurb with “poverty fetishisation” when it wasn’t that at all as other posters here have more clearly explained.

back in the 90s I used to work in product development and the term "colourway" came from the factories in Hong Kong when dealing with manufacturers (usually plastic stuff). We didn't use the term in the UK for product marketing back then.

Funny how it's now in the same league as pant, lip, elevate and other pretentious wordy shite.

The ones that annoy me are the conscending beauty ads with tech shoehorned in. "HD brows" - it's just ridiculous.

What on earth are you talking about? Nuts?

YANBU, it is incredibly cloying and pretentious. The demographic is Harry Wallop’s Wood Burning Stover tribe, desperate to telegraph what they believe to be wholesome down-to-earth ‘authenticity’ to the world, which of course they have to buy pre-made or pay other people to do because they themselves do not have the skills or knowledge. The previous poster above had it right when they said something about people ‘cosplaying’ being old timey rustic folk. Meanwhile, the real ‘rustic’ folk are living in tiny damp-riddled terraces on soulless midcentury estates, wearing polyester jumpers from Primark to keep warm whilst they make ‘authentic’ artisanal items to flog to class anxious middles for inflated prices at the local farmer’s market. It’s all fake.

The working class were transformed quite quickly from being the salt of the Earth, to being the scum of the Earth. Probably to stop nice folks feeling squeamish about the 'neutron-bomb' annihilation of single industry towns and villages in the 1980's, where although the people and houses remained, all economic life and potential were wiped out.
These marketing blurbs are just telling us that solid, wholesome working-class artisans exist, obviously nowhere local but in some artisanal Brigadoon which can only be located by hardworking souls who were poor as churchmice in the rambling rectory with only the Aga to keep them warm.
Reminds me of the launch of Aqua Libra in the 1980's "based on an ancient Swiss recipe" which turned out to be a reinvention of water, designed by scientists in a factory in the home counties.

And yet, op, you have chosen to write your op in the exact style you claim to despise. Or were you being ironic?

@derxa she means ewe nuts which is what lamb are fattened on before slaughter. But they are just a cereal based feed, not actual nuts.

And on the wider lamb thing almost all British lamb is slaughtered at six months. There's a small amount comes to market slaughtered v young to supply British lamb at Easter and it's true it's bland. And there's a drive to encourage people to eat older lamb at 12m also called hogget. Easily available in the countryside harder to find in cities but definitely tastier than spring lamb.

Nothing wrong with good NZ lamb though agree the marketing of that brand may be going too far...

I'm a sheep farmer. We give our ewes 'nuts' but not our lambs destined for market, Did you even read the full thread?