Response to Question 1

As of today, there isn’t much of a difference between sponsoring culture to becoming culture. Although companies have always payed huge amounts to become sponsors, it has now gotten out of hand. The line between the two has become so blurred that companies are doing whatever they can to get their products advertised whether through actual sponsors (i.e. on cars or on shirts) or through product placement in movies. Before, companies would sponsor events such as festivals, concerts or even drag races. But as time passed, companies and their products have taken over. The Hip Hop industry is one of the greatest examples of this. Whenever a rapper mentions a product (whether they legally do or not), sales of that particular product rise dramatically. We’re now living in a society where we feel to buy whatever is considered popular.

If you look at Formula One racing, you can see a great example of extreme sponsorships. By having a company’s logo on the car can cost that company millions of pounds. Even though it costs these companies thousands, because so many people see the logos, they will be more likely to buy one of their products.

When culture’s purpose is sales rather than expression, we loose our selves. We loose our identities and end up just being another sheep in the herd. Culture is what makes us different from one and other. When the advertising becomes our culture, we start becoming more materialistic. Although you cannot say we were never materialistic, it just increases our want for materialistic goods.

For many of us, we are proud of the culture we come from. We’re proud of the traditions, sayings and beliefs. But gradually through advertising and sponsorship, it can make us question our cultures and even create doubt in our minds about it. It’s never wrong to question things, but by creating the doubt, it can stray us from what our own cultures have taught us. Many would say that most people are becoming too mainstream and that, like sheep, follow whatever is popular.