QVC Does It Feed On The Insecurities Of Women?

[donna255]

On another board a post about Lulu selling on QVC was dug up from last year. A man made the comment that QVC and its beauty products feeds on the insecurities of women and their fear of aging. He went on to say QVC, Liz Earle etc were disgusting. I did get the idea his wife must be a QVC shopper especially Liz Earle as she was mentioned along with Lulu.

So do you think QVC is feeding on our insecurities to make sales?

When I read this post it amused me, thinking to myself well its a man and he is not happy about his wife/partner spending money on pots of face creams etc. Old fashioned thinking of women don't need all that muck on their faces.

But thinking again there is a grain of truth QVC pushing this as anti aging or this celeb or that uses this. We all do jump at the mere hint of a new wonder product which will give us longer lashes, firmer skin, a flawless complexion.

 

[BurlyBeaR]

yes, yes and thrice yes.

 

[123purplerabbit]

Yes, I think it does - but what company trying to sell a product doesn't? Let's face it, we all need food, water, shelter, clothing - but we want nice-tasting, luxury foods (eg, cake, chocolate instead of just bread & spuds), nice comfortable homes (re-decorated occasionally) and clothes that make us look 2 sizes smaller (maybe that's just me?), a variety of shoes & handbags to choose from etc. Maybe I'm too cynical but don't all marketing campaigns either appeal to us to want better/bigger/more or else try to fool us into believing we can't do without something?

And yes, I also get sucked into the hype. But sometimes when you sit back & really think about it, or if you miss out on getting something you thought you couldn't live without, life goes on regardless & you realise it was all marketing.

 

[Marina]

Yes, Look at AY - eye bags, Fiona - drooping face, Pipa doesn't look too great at the moment. Even LE has eye bags (sometimes).
I'm not saying skin care doesn't work, I think it works in conjunction with healthy eating and exercise. And yes agian- QVC feeds on the insecurities of women and their fear of aging. Oh, and the new SBC woman - covered in huge spots. And the woman from Mars - pass me a bucket.

 

[HoodedClaw]

Yes: as does the fashion and diet industries. They make millions out of the fact that women are never happy as they are, but spend all their time worrying that they're too old/too fat/too flat chested etc. etc... No matter how confident a woman is, she'll still fall for some oik's spiel that she's somehow incomplete without buying into a new trend of some kind.

Look at any women's mag: it's all about spending cash on whole new wardrobes, "miracle" skincare ranges, and how to "have it all" at home and in work. Including better orgasms on tap.

And just look at what women do in the name of "beauty"; plastic surgery, pour chemicals over your heads to colour hair or into your face to freeze wrinkles/give a trout pout, yo-yo diet (and in extreme cases become bulimic and anorexic) to reach some unnatainable dress size. Not to mention spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on clothes, make up and skin care that you're never happy with.

Glen C walks around QVC looking like he got dressed in a Salvation Army collection bin in the dark, yet women will gladly listen to what he says about fashion :taphead:

If THAT doesn't say that women are unreasonably insecure over the issue of their appearance, nothing does! :nod:

 

[LADY TIA]

Definitely does, I must say though having wasted so much money over the years on products I've reacted to, I'm somewhat stingy when buying skincare.

Gone are the days when I'd think nothing of going to a counter like decleor and spending upwards of £200.00.

£30 is the max I'd spend on a moisturiser now given I'll probably react to it!!! mind you anything that causes problems goes back much to those beauty counter assistant's dismay but I just can't justify the expense.

If I find something I like and most importantly can safely use wonderful but I still have that upper price limit as I'm just not sure skincare can offer many of the promises companies talk about.

 

[alan1302]

All companies do it

 

[WildRose]

Yes: as does the fashion and diet industries. They make millions out of the fact that women are never happy as they are, but spend all their time worrying that they're too old/too fat/too flat chested etc. etc... No matter how confident a woman is, she'll still fall for some oik's spiel that she's somehow incomplete without buying into a new trend of some kind.

Look at any women's mag: it's all about spending cash on whole new wardrobes, "miracle" skincare ranges, and how to "have it all" at home and in work. Including better orgasms on tap.

And just look at what women do in the name of "beauty"; plastic surgery, pour chemicals over your heads to colour hair or into your face to freeze wrinkles/give a trout pout, yo-yo diet (and in extreme cases become bulimic and anorexic) to reach some unnatainable dress size. Not to mention spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on clothes, make up and skin care that you're never happy with.

Glen C walks around QVC looking like he got dressed in a Salvation Army collection bin in the dark, yet women will gladly listen to what he says about fashion :taphead:

If THAT doesn't say that women are unreasonably insecure over the issue of their appearance, nothing does! :nod:

But it is not just the industries that are fueling women's insecurities, other women do too. Other women can be very harsh in discussing body shape/hairstyle/make up/ clothing/ what should be covered if you are over 50 and what you should/should not wear..... so is there any wonder that women are insecure? If they do not get it from the media they get it from advertising, and if not from there from other women too

 

[minim]

I don't dispute the fact that there are pressures to look good, but I think the industry in all its forms are only tapping into human nature. People have always striven to improve their appearance. I loved sitting on my mother's bed watching her put on her rouge and lipstick before she went out. I loved being in my aunt's house on a Saturday evening when my older cousins would jostle for position in front of the mirror hung above the kitchen mantelpiece. The boys slapped on the Brylcream and stole their sister's stockings to get a mirror shine on their shoes, the girls slapped on the Pan Stick and disappeared behind clouds of hair lacquer. I don't think any of them were insecure, they just wanted to look good.

How much you are influenced by your peers or by the whole beauty industry selling the dream is down to you. I know I buy products for purely selfish reasons - because they make ME feel good and not because I feel I have to conform to a standard.
As for getting older - well, I was a peach now I'm heading towards being a prune

 

[HoodedClaw]

I agree about human nature, but don't forget that the diet, beauty and fashion industries are not about selling a "cure"; there isn't one! It's about shifting product, and if women are especially neurotic about their looks, then why not make cash out of it?

If there truly was a "miracle" product developed that could knock 20-30 years off your physical appearance and make you look like a vision of gorgeousness (and stay like that), it would never be marketed.

Why?

Because it could only be used ONCE. These industries make their cash off the fact that women will literally and actually pay ANYTHING to "improve" their appearance (and the idea of "beauty is subjective, anyway!), so they will always play on the fact that "celebs" should be aspired towards because they're more younger looking/attractive and thinner than the average Miss/Mrs or Ms Pleb (allegedly). So they will always push for women to jump on the new bandwagon and so make more cash.

Victoria Beckham is a beauty editor's dream: she's loaded (and probably has her pick of whatever beauty ranges she wants), wanders about in designer gear and she's thin.

But does she ever look happy? :wonder:

 

[barbedwire]

On another board a post about Lulu selling on QVC was dug up from last year. A man made the comment that QVC and its beauty products feeds on the insecurities of women and their fear of aging. He went on to say QVC, Liz Earle etc were disgusting. I did get the idea his wife must be a QVC shopper especially Liz Earle as she was mentioned along with Lulu.

So do you think QVC is feeding on our insecurities to make sales?

When I read this post it amused me, thinking to myself well its a man and he is not happy about his wife/partner spending money on pots of face creams etc. Old fashioned thinking of women don't need all that muck on their faces.

But thinking again there is a grain of truth QVC pushing this as anti aging or this celeb or that uses this. We all do jump at the mere hint of a new wonder product which will give us longer lashes, firmer skin, a flawless complexion.

Ah yep, I too saw the post on the board you're referring to and thought the same as you did...

I think it is true they feed on people's insecurities generally, and I think you only have to listen to the sales patter for a lot of the products they sell to realise it. Not just with skincare - though perhaps that's the biggest culprit for giving people complexes about the way they look. Case in point is the sudden reappearance of the Winter Trax shoes (and OK I know we're going into Autumn/Winter - but funny there's a story in the Daily Mail about another cold winter coming - then within a few days these suddenly re-appear). You only had to hear the presenters telling you of friends horror stories of being injured in ice and then saying "Try them, nothing to lose, they might give you peace of mind etc..." and it works. I spoke to my Mum later on Sunday when they'd been on, and she proudly announced she'd bought some...:doh:

So not just skincare, but yes I think they do prey on people's insecurities...

 

[minim]

I think if you combine the nights closing in, falling temperatures and the recollection of falling on your coccyx - then yes, you would be prepared for ice. Don't know if I would term that insecurity though.

 

[Swankypants]

I don't think it is women that are being painted as gullible, women have just been targets longer. I was amazed lately to see a Nivea advert for men recently which said the cream 'protected against the ravages of having children' [or words to that effect but implying that playing with your kids gives you wrinkles].

Surely the fact that they cannot prove these mayonnaises don't all work, they have to resort to mind tricks.

 

[Itchy]

I think if you combine the nights closing in, falling temperatures and the recollection of falling on your coccyx - then yes, you would be prepared for ice. Don't know if I would term that insecurity though.[/QUOTE

I fell on my coccyx last winter. I had no idea the ground was a sheet of ice and i came down with an almighty wallop - ouch. But as this happened on the path near our back door, even if I had bought those trax things, i would probably not have put them on to go to the wheelie bin!

I think QVC and all retailers play on many things, not just insecurities - the quest for looking youthful, keeping up with the celebrities, vanity...etc. That is what marketing is all about (my cousin did a degree in it and there are lots of tricks). QVC are not the only ones.

 

[minim]

I fell on my coccyx last winter. I had no idea the ground was a sheet of ice and i came down with an almighty wallop - ouch. But as this happened on the path near our back door, even if I had bought those trax things, i would probably not have put them on to go to the wheelie bin!

I fell over 40 years ago & I can still feel the shame. It was a slide of shame rather than a walk of shame :sad:
I'd just got off the bus, fell & slid a few feet much to the amusement of the passengers. A lady tried to help me up and she fell in the attempt. The passengers were in hysterics. A man came and ..... Yes! You guessed it!:biggrin:

 

[Itchy]

I fell over 40 years ago & I can still feel the shame. It was a slide of shame rather than a walk of shame :sad:
I'd just got off the bus, fell & slid a few feet much to the amusement of the passengers. A lady tried to help me up and she fell in the attempt. The passengers were in hysterics. A man came and ..... Yes! You guessed it!:biggrin:

Sorry Minim!! My husband is giving me strange looks, wondering why i am laughing so much. At least no one saw me flat on my back next to the bin - the cat was lurking somewhere near, but she could keep a secret.

 

[HoodedClaw]

I think there's a difference to QVC trying to fulfil a real issue (as falling over on ice is at the very least embarrassing; at worst dangerous), and creating/playing on insecurities to sell products.

I bought YakTrax this year, purely because my partner and myself has SO much fun trying not to fall over on the ice last winter that I decided that I'd buy some of these for this winter onwards.

As my partner does not has somewhat weak bones I see this as being practical and preparing for a potentially awful eventuality. There's a big difference between this and spending hundreds of pounds on jars of glorified salad cream because beauty companies tell you that you need to stay looking 25 years of age for ever.

 

[donna255]

I can beat that minim. I was walking the dog about 25 years ago crossing through the local school playground. Yes the kids all out on their break and it was so slippy and icy they loved it. I went down like a sack of coal on my bum. Amber (the dog) stop turned and looked at me so do did half the playground. I was in my 20s and felt a right eejet as well as it really hurting.

 

[minim]

Ah, but did the bystanders applaud Donna

 

[donna255]

No, they just went on with whatever but I swear some of them sniggered.