My Take on the Joneses

Would you categorize the way the Jones family lives as personal selling? Why or why not?
I think this is more in the line of “influencers” than direct selling. And I think picked up on how social media influencers were becoming a think (the movie being made before they were a household word). But the movie unit did not do direct sales the way that the neighbor character was with her skincare items.

What similarities do you see between the sales tactics the Jones family employs and the marketing tactics of some of your favorite brands?
Much like advertising in the real world, the Jones family used “this will make you seem sexy/get you laid” as a key way to push items that have no direct connection to sex (like cars and jewelry).

Based on what you read in the course materials and what you observed in this movie, do you think the way products are marketed in this
movie is ethical?
No – I don’t think it is ethical to do sales pitches for items you may not even be personally a fan of without disclosing that you were paid to do this.

How would you feel if you were friends with someone in the Jones family before you found out their secret? What about afterward?
I personally am not a fan of having stuff just for the sake of having things and likely would not have talked to them much (or just found them snobby). But, I am a big fan of “things that legitimately make my life better” so probably I would have been interested in the toilet! Finding out after, definitely betrayed and hurt: how much was lies? How can you even tell in that situation when the lying has ended or begun again? Something our characters also struggled with.

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