Merchants of Cool on February 27, 2001

¶ … Merchants of Cool

On February 27, 2001 the Public Broadcasting System's (PBS) program Frontline aired The Merchants of Cool. The program examines the efforts of corporate America to exploit the teenage market. At the time of broadcast there were 32 million teenagers in the United States, the largest generation ever, spending 100 billion dollars annually on their own while their parents spent another 50 billion on them. This ability to impact the economy has made this generation the most studied in history. Robert Mc Chesney, media critic, has characterized the behavior of corporate America toward this youth market as analogous to the British Empire's takeover of Africa. I believe a valid comparison can be made between these two otherwise unconnected events.

Briefly, the earliest British colonies on the west coast of Africa were dedicated to creating wealth through the trade of slaves. Gold and ivory also attracted investors to the continent. However, African climate and disease, primarily malaria, inhibited this early colonization. Eventually advances in technology gave Europeans the means to colonize Africa. These advances occurred at a time of peculiarly intense competition between the European powers creating a rush for African territory. As a result the British presence on the continent increased substantially. This move to colonize Africa coincided with the arrival of the concept of social Darwinism. The British thought their superior weaponry and prowess in technology entitled them to colonize and exploit the resources of the continent. They believed it was their duty and right to impose their notion of civilization upon the Africans ("Africa: British Colonies").

Just as there was a scramble among European nations to reap the wealth of Africa, five major businesses, Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp, Disney, Viacom, Universal Vivendi, and AOL/Time Warner, are each competing for a piece of the 150 billion dollars annually spent by teenagers. These companies own 90% of all music in the U.S., all film studios, all major TV networks, TV stations, and every commercial cable channel. Using films, music, CDs, Internet, clothing, amusement parks, and sports teams as weaponry, these companies manipulate the teenage mind for financial gain. This Frontline program notes marketing messages are literally everywhere. Teens are exposed to 3,000 ads a day and 10 million by the time they reach 18. Moreover, they are readily available since 75% have a TV in there room and one-third own a personal computer, spending at least two hours a day online. Competition for the teenage market drives brands to understand what teens feel and how teens think well enough to reach them with their message. In order to develop this market these companies employ market researchers to learn what is cool. However, cool is elusive. Once something becomes cool it becomes passe, cool keeps changing. To keep current, research companies use cool hunters to find the personalities and players in the teen social network who hold influence over their peers, the 20% of teens that the other 80% follow ("The Merchants of Cool").

In Africa the British used brute force and superior weapons to take the resources of the continent. In today's world understanding and manipulating the 20% of teens that lead the pack is vital for companies to attract the teen dollar. The manipulation of cool is manifested through the media outlets of the five companies that control them. By analyzing data from a numerous interviews with teenage males marketing researchers found the Mook. The Mook is a character who is obnoxious, loud, crude, and always in your face and designed to feed off of the testosterone drive male ego. This type of character can be found on television and in other media at all times. The Mook exists in the television shows South Park and the Man Show, and on the radio via Howard Stern. The Mook is calculated to instantly take the attention of the viewer. Research shows there is short window of opportunity to get this done as teenage audiences are constantly flipping through the channels. Since companies are competing brain space as well as shelf space they require programming that works fast to grab the viewer's eye. Characters that take too long to develop and are complex are unsuccessful at this so standards are lowered. The female version of the Mook is the Midriff. As opposed to the Mook, who is crude, the Midriff is sexy. The program uses Britney Spears as an example; she began as a virginal girl whose Lolita like sexy tease caught the attention of everybody. The interest she drew to herself demonstrated to teen girls that their body was an asset ("The Merchants of Cool").