Would you categorize the way the Jones family lives as personal selling? Why or why not?
I would categorize the way the Jones family lives as personal selling. The reason being that they partake in self-marketing, which is even encouraged by their boss, KC, at LifeImage Enterprises. It is their job to market themselves to make people like them, therefore want to be like them and have what they have in the form of material possessions. Their decorated house, lifestyle, the quality time they spend with others in the neighborhood, the parties they throw and how they present themselves in public were like an inescapable billboard. Every interaction each Jones family member had with a stranger(s) was their opportunity to convince them to buy something, as was seen numerous times throughout the movie – this is considered personal selling. But they did it so casually and without pressure, that nobody even noticed.
What similarities do you see between the sales tactics the Jones family employs and the marketing tactics of some of your favorite brands? Give an example.
There are some celebrities who became famous from one profession or for another reason, and then decided to create their own brand of products that they market by wearing it themselves. A good example of this is Kim Kardashian’s line KKW beauty, or her SKIMS brand of shapewear that she advertises and markets by wearing on her social media accounts. Another brand that comes to mind is Emily Ratajkowski and her swimwear brand, iNamorata Woman – she also models her own product. A very famous example I can think of is when Michael Jordan collaborated with Nike to release his line of Air Jordan sneakers and wore them while still playing in the NBA. This works and convinces people to buy from them because these celebrities were, and still are, well liked, before launching their own brand and marketing it.
Based on what you read in the course materials and what you observed in the movie, do you think the way products are marketed in this movie is ethical?
I think the Jones family marketed their products in an unethical way. There was one particular scene in the movie, not long after the dinner party, where Kate and Steve are sitting in the kitchen on their day off. Kate mentions to Steve that although his selling numbers increased after the party, he could do better. She specifically states, “create a ripple effect to get others to sell for you”. While that could be interpreted as a commission, I don’t believe it is because Kate was fine with Steve doing this unbeknownst to the ones they are targeting to sell for them. So in a sense, Steve would make money while others don’t, Steve does little to no work while making maximum profits. This sounds like one sign of a pyramid scheme, although I may be wrong. Mick was marketing alcohol to underage teens, which was illegal and highly unethical. Larry Symonds, one of the Joneses neighbors, committed suicide due to the consequences of his bad decisions trying to make his wife happy – a result of getting too caught up in Steve’s lifestyle. Although Mr. Symonds made that decision, it probably wouldn’t have happened if the Joneses never stepped foot in the neighborhood.
How would you feel if you were friends with someone in the Jones family before you found out their secret? What about afterward?
The only person I could really see myself being friends with is Mick Jones because he seems to be the most laid back character. He made some mistakes and wasn’t perfect, but was more tolerable in my opinion compared to the other Jones characters (Steve would be second, Kate third and Jenn last). If I found out that him and his family were not actually a real family and that their only goal was to sell products to people in the neighborhood, I would be weirded out by it I guess. I don’t think I’d want to be friends because there would always be concerns that his only primary goal was to sell something, or get me to sell in a sneaky way, and not at all have an authentic friendship.
