Seven deadly sins and marketing

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The new list of sins issued by the Vatican has drawn diverse reactions from different quarters. “People don’t sin any more.” “They celebrate it”. Consumerism and the galloping globalisation are dishing out heady cocktails of deadly sins—luxuria (lust), gula (gluttony), avarita (greed), invidia (envy), superbia (pride) and so on to the consumers all around to drink them to the dregs.

In the Garden of Eden, Mr and Mrs Adam were the original consumers-cum-sinners and were punished by the God but their successors did not take any learning from that. As more choices were given to them, the more sins they piled on. Accent was on excess. Ye dil maange more. Act of consumption was taken to the level of perversion. Our drinking of fruit juice is not complete till others are deprived of the pulp. We have already made solemn proclamations that we would not share our biscuit or chocolate even with our better half. We are not afraid of hell, immersed as we are in consumption that we don’t have time to visit that place. The 60-year-old brand ambassador of a chocolate gets into the body of a girl to consume some meetha. Ye to too much ho gaya. Angels turned uneasy in heaven and it was time for a divine intervention.

In came a fresh list of seven more sins. Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican body that oversees confession and plenary indulgences, said priests must take account of new sins which have appeared on the horizon of humanity as a corollary to the unstoppable process of globalisation. This time the divine keeper of conscience has become more marketing savvy. One realisation has sunk in—don’t expect consumers to get into course correction mode. They are far too smart and innovative. If they smell self interest they can turn any concept on its head. Look what they have done to the original list of sins defined by Pope Gregory. They have hired marketing gurus who have thoughtfully packaged and capsuled them in the curriculum of business schools. Open the chapters of positioning and consumer behaviour you will find them as great consumer motivations!