When Did Basketball Shoes Become So Important?
I was reading an article (see link) that stated individuals were fighting over the new Nike Air Jordan Basketball shoes. Now granted I am not a basketball buff, so paying $180 for a pair of tennis shoes is not my cup of tea. However, my question is why are these basketball shoes so valuable as to cause intelligence (???) people to lose their minds? Are they considered an investment and will grow in value in a couple of years? Are they antiques, and therefore have a tidy monetary value? I am truly at a lost, what’s the big deal? Maybe someone can enlighten me.
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Dr. Madeline Ann Lewis
President/CEO
Deline Institute for Professional Development
Website: www.delineinstitute.net
Email: women [at] delineinstititue [dot] net
"Finding Your Best Inside"
Haha, fantastic question. This is insane.
Here's one of the vintage commercials: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJujlpcIQCk. Certainly doesn't appeal to my demographic, but I can think of a few people who would pay for these. It's a status thing, it's a "I feel like I"m splurging, so these must be worth it" thing, but you were closest with the idea that they're losing they're minds. :p
"Humans, it turns out, are impressionable, emotional and irrational. We buy things we don’t need, often at arbitrary prices and for silly reasons. Studies show that when a store plays soothing music, shoppers will linger for longer and often spend more. If customers are in a good mood, they are more susceptible to persuasion. We believe price tends to indicate the value of things, not the other way around."
(From this article: http://www.economist.com/node/21541706, which was actually really interesting. Did you know that cake mixes make bakers add eggs because Dichter believed that, "mixes that require the cook to add only water are threatening to women, since their role is marginalised." Crazy)
My favorite line was the officer Murphy, commenting on the arrested 18-year old who punched a police officer: "He did not get his shoes; he went to jail." I don't know why I find that so funny, but I can just imagine how ridiculous this city cop must find these priveleged people and their descent into chaos over an old version of a sneaker.