I started thinking how these interviews could help me in the proposal writing process so decided to focus on a sub-topic of the branding culture.
I started off asking people who their idols were. who they looked up to... almost like a pre-interview attempt... i found that this varied depending on the gender and age.
The experiment
The question
I asked 3 people who their celebrity idol was. I also asked why and if they would buy a product endorsed by that particular person. Who wouldn't they buy a product back by...
An eleven year old female was asked the question, she responded Miley Cyrus because she is pretty, young and successful. She also started out singing when she was around the subjects age and looks up to her. She said she wouldn't want anything advertised by a man as it wouldn't be girly enough especially not a sportsman, such as david beckham.
20 year old male, was asked the same questions, he responded obviously different than subject one. he said he looks up to "the usual people" so when i asked who they were he struggled to come up with a name which i found quite strange. Maybe because he was on the spot i don't know but he struggled! eventually he said he looks up to music bands especially pop/ punk bands such as muse. When i asked why he said he wasn't sure just because of the way they dress and likes their music. He said he wouldn't buy products endorsed by younger singers such as Justin beiber...
19 year old female, was asked the same thing, responded quite interesting actually... she said she would buy a product from a man and a woman. i found this interesting as my other subjects had a clear dislike to a certain person or image. She didnt seem to mind. what she said was interesting as she said if a girl was selling you a product like cheryl cole she would buy it because if she thought a successful woman would buy it and use it then she should! She also said if a hunky man was telling her to buy a certain perfume or something she probably would because he would like the smell and she would appeal to him more... this got me thinking a lot...
There are some things that cant be done! Say if Gerard Butler was to advertise tampons?! Would women run out and buy them?! probably not... they wouldn't because he doesn't understand what a woman needs and wants. but if he was to advertise say a t-shirt then they would probably buy it! As subject 3 said she would buy something to get the attention of the celebrity. He obviously liked it enough to advertise it so people respect this and want to buy it because they want him.
I then asked them what they thought about interior design in general... i asked them to sum up my discipline in 3 words. what i got back was pretty expected... "pillows, throws, wallpaper" not "ground breaking brilliance!" i asked myself why?! why do people not understand what interiors is about?! i realised i had to admit ok... it is a tiny proportion to do with wallpaper and cushions and throws... but it is more to do with emotion and expression! Peoples needs and wants. Architecture, historic features, design for hotels... Design is about people, my discipline is no different, Laurence Llewelyn Bowen is the reason people believe interiors is a about decoration. flamboyant patterns and faux fur galore! Its not... Even when i tell people on the street what i do they say to me ... "oh i need my living room decorated ill give u a shout!"... Its quite annoying how stereotypes are fueled by hundreds of TV programmes. don't get me wrong i loved watching changing rooms when i was younger but it has totally destroyed peoples opinions on interiors in my opinion.
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