Friday, March 10, 2006
Dire Straits - Money for Nothing
I finally managed to get out of school for my Friday afternoon happy hour at Brewerkz after many weeks of involuntary abstinence. As I made my way, a particular advertisement poster caught my eye, with a huge print of a SGD$50 bill and the words:
“Why work for cash?”
An instinctive voice at the back of my head immediately shouted back “If not for cash then what else?” There didn’t seem to be anything else elaborating what it was, so I left it at that and trooped on down to the watering hole.
As usual, I sat at the bar and pored over the Straits Times at a leisurely pace, over a few pints. Once again the same advertisement graced the front page of one of the sections, this time with the tagline:
“When you can shop for cash?”
Now this had me curious. Upon reading the fine print I realized that it was some advertisement for yet another credit card, this time launched by a local property company. I don’t quite remember the perks that they offered, but the general idea was to get people to spend more money with the help of yet another bonus points/benefits scheme. One that I distinctly remember though, was:
“Free massage and coffee*
*Terms and conditions apply”
Absolutely ridiculous. Is this what it’s come to?
This may sound absurd but credit cards are being touted everywhere like fake watches. Just take a walk down Orchard Road on a weekend and chances are you’ll be approached by several persistent credit card pushers trying to flog their wares. These cards are being issued by banks and credit card companies, all competing to give the most “benefits” and “perks” and claiming their cards to be a must-have “lifestyle” item. It gets even more incredible. I distinctly remember one card being marketed on the basis of its…small physical size. Really.
The film advertisements invariably show well-groomed, well-heeled people living it up in style, strutting across the screen in glamorous outfits, frolicking on picture-perfect beaches in bikinis (I don’t mind that part) or lounging on a flashy yacht on a sea that strangely seems as calm as a swimming pool.
Several groups are being singled out for aggressive marketing, most notably working women, highly-paid yuppies and those new to the workforce looking to spend their first few paychecks. It didn’t take long for them to realize that to get to the freshest apples you skip the barrel and go straight to the tree, so now they come to university campuses as well.
I don’t have anything against credit cards per se, but the way they market it makes me sick. They shamelessly trumpet all the good stuff and swag and appeal to a very basic human impulse, the desire to get more for less, or something for nothing, with scant mention of the financial responsibility needed. It's almost like selling someone a gun without telling them which way to point it (then again, I might be underestimating the capacity of human stupidity). I guess that’s the logic behind the abovementioned advertising catchphrase.
Add to this whole mess the up-and-coming casino to be built and you’ve got a recipe for something I wouldn’t eat.
That’s why I’ve decided to hold off on getting a credit card for as long as I can. All this unabashed crass materialism manifesting itself in every possible form has somehow had the reverse effect on me. Call me cynical, but I honestly believe that the only money you can call yours is the cash you have in your pocket, not the money somebody’s willing to lend you or the money you’ve already spent.
To top off the irony quotient for the day, the same section in the newspaper bearing that advertisement had a large article about the alarming non-decline in the number of teen and youth suicides per year.
Maybe I was a beatnik / hippie in a previous life. Well, at least I’ve got the goatee.
“Why work for cash?”
An instinctive voice at the back of my head immediately shouted back “If not for cash then what else?” There didn’t seem to be anything else elaborating what it was, so I left it at that and trooped on down to the watering hole.
As usual, I sat at the bar and pored over the Straits Times at a leisurely pace, over a few pints. Once again the same advertisement graced the front page of one of the sections, this time with the tagline:
“When you can shop for cash?”
Now this had me curious. Upon reading the fine print I realized that it was some advertisement for yet another credit card, this time launched by a local property company. I don’t quite remember the perks that they offered, but the general idea was to get people to spend more money with the help of yet another bonus points/benefits scheme. One that I distinctly remember though, was:
“Free massage and coffee*
*Terms and conditions apply”
Absolutely ridiculous. Is this what it’s come to?
This may sound absurd but credit cards are being touted everywhere like fake watches. Just take a walk down Orchard Road on a weekend and chances are you’ll be approached by several persistent credit card pushers trying to flog their wares. These cards are being issued by banks and credit card companies, all competing to give the most “benefits” and “perks” and claiming their cards to be a must-have “lifestyle” item. It gets even more incredible. I distinctly remember one card being marketed on the basis of its…small physical size. Really.
The film advertisements invariably show well-groomed, well-heeled people living it up in style, strutting across the screen in glamorous outfits, frolicking on picture-perfect beaches in bikinis (I don’t mind that part) or lounging on a flashy yacht on a sea that strangely seems as calm as a swimming pool.
Several groups are being singled out for aggressive marketing, most notably working women, highly-paid yuppies and those new to the workforce looking to spend their first few paychecks. It didn’t take long for them to realize that to get to the freshest apples you skip the barrel and go straight to the tree, so now they come to university campuses as well.
I don’t have anything against credit cards per se, but the way they market it makes me sick. They shamelessly trumpet all the good stuff and swag and appeal to a very basic human impulse, the desire to get more for less, or something for nothing, with scant mention of the financial responsibility needed. It's almost like selling someone a gun without telling them which way to point it (then again, I might be underestimating the capacity of human stupidity). I guess that’s the logic behind the abovementioned advertising catchphrase.
Add to this whole mess the up-and-coming casino to be built and you’ve got a recipe for something I wouldn’t eat.
That’s why I’ve decided to hold off on getting a credit card for as long as I can. All this unabashed crass materialism manifesting itself in every possible form has somehow had the reverse effect on me. Call me cynical, but I honestly believe that the only money you can call yours is the cash you have in your pocket, not the money somebody’s willing to lend you or the money you’ve already spent.
To top off the irony quotient for the day, the same section in the newspaper bearing that advertisement had a large article about the alarming non-decline in the number of teen and youth suicides per year.
Maybe I was a beatnik / hippie in a previous life. Well, at least I’ve got the goatee.
# posted by BloozeGit @ 11:53 pm 
