I would categorize the way the Jones family lived as personal selling but not in a direct way as they sort of prolong the process, instead of just letting people know directly that they are trying to sell them a product, they would show off products to others by using them themselves so that people would see how good said product Is and would want it for themselves too.
A similarity between the sales tactics the Jones family employs and the marketing tactics of other brands is commonly known as influencer marketing. This happens a lot throughout the movie as the Jones family makes sales by influencing different customers on different products. For example, when Mike Jones was showing off his skateboard, I am sure that made his friends want to get one as well, or when Kate was showing her living room to her neighbor instantly her neighbor fell in love with her dining set and wanted one like it. They all market products to people within their age group or things that a targeted group would be interested in, like when Steve took the golf clubs to the court where everyone would be fascinated with it even though he was already a good player he made It look as if it was the clubs that made him better in the game. Examples of how other stores use this tactic would be when you’re going to look to buy a bed or a sofa set, stores like Ashley furniture and Ally furniture would allow you to sit on the sofas or lay on the bed so that you would get a feel of the product to get that personal experience they also would have showrooms whereby they have other pieces in the picture for you to see and get your interest with it, for example, they would put a coffee table, or a center table to show up the sofa or when selling the beds they would have dressers, closets, and nightstands to also influence the customers buying decision.
I think it is ethical however I am sure that some may disagree, I think it was ethical in ways that even though the Jones lied and made people believe they had it all they had never forced anyone to buy a product or use a product they simply introduced different products to people and let them decide on their own as to if they wanted that product or if they needed it. However, in the end, Mr. Jones tough they were somewhat being unethical as to what had happened to their neighbor Larry but I don’t think that was Mr. Jones’s fault it was Larry who got jealous of Mr. Jones and wanted to live a lavish lifestyle even though he could not afford it, causing him to be in the situation he was in which led him to do what he did.
If I were friends with someone in the Jones family before finding out their secret I would be thrilled, excited, and a tad bit jealous, thrilled because my friends were cool and rich, excited because I was being introduced to new products, gadgets, and games and a bit jealous because I’m sure I would if wanted to live their life as it seemed to be so cool. After I found out about their secret, I would be disappointed and even pity them. Disappointed because I thought they were real friends and not fake ones and pity them as their life was just all made up nothing was real as they were just living a lie.
