See that TV above? See those flickers of white around the frame?
They are all diamonds. 160 of them. Totalling 20 carats.
But it gets even more ridiculous … you see it costs US$130,000.
No, that’s not a typing error, ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY THOUSAND AMERICAN DOLLARS.
As far as I am concerned, the maker, Keymat Industrie, should be charged with crimes against humanity and ordered to give me the names and addresses of each person who has ever enquired about the monstrosity so I can go round to their houses, burn them down then dance in the ashes.
Actually what I’d really like to do is get a client who represents ‘consumer value’ [someone like K-Mart or Kia] and convince them to take a stand against vulgar displays of wealth.
They would name and shame brands [and people] who make/buy products that are extreme in cost and promote simple pleasures such as community, family, culture and creativity …
Sure it would alienate a fuckload of companies and segments in society [though as I wrote in a post a while back, many of the super wealthy have a FUCK YOU attitude towards the masses which means this idea is already potentially flawed], but I do believe it would at least galvanise the support of the masses [or at least the middle country, middle classes] because as much as everyone has the right to do what they want with their cash, there’s a point where it can be viewed almost as an aggressive act against their beloved fabric of society.
Alright, so this would only work if the company in question actually lived it claims rather than just spouted them PLUS it shouldn’t try and follow this strategy in countries where they seem to follow a ‘Wear Your Wealth’ philosophy [that’s HK and Dubai for a start] but maybe – just maybe – in some parts of the UK and US it could provide a powerful platform for a brand to stand out from the clutter and make a positive difference to both the wider society and their profits.
[Can you imagine how powerful it would be if a building society was behind kiva.org. I think it would be wonderful not to mention commercially beneficial]
Oh, and before someone suggests I talk to Virgin about it, I would tell them to go here first – then tell me if it would be entirely appropriate for them to take this stance! 🙂