This chapter describes members of Gen Y as much more traditional and team oriented than their older brothers and sisters. Do you agree?

Identify the ritual elements of a football game?

What is deethnicization? Give an example.

Some industry experts feel that it's acceptable to appropriate symbols from another culture even if the buyer does not know their original meaning. They argue that even in the host society there is often disagreement about these meanings. What do you think?

"Christmas has become simply another opportunity to exchange gifts and stimulate the economy." Do you agree? Why or why not?

Who are acculturation agents? Give two examples.

Disney World is a sacred place." Do you agree? Why or why not?

Several years ago R. J. Reynolds announced plans to test market a menthol cigarette called Uptown specifically to African American consumers. According to the company, about 70 percent of African American smokers prefer menthol, more than twice the average rate. After market research showed that blacks tend to open cigarette packs from the bottom. the company decided to pack Uptowns with the filters facing down. Reynolds cancelled its plans after private health groups and government officials protested. Does a company have the right to exploit a subculture's special characteristics, especially to increase sales of a harmful product such as cigarettes? What about the argument that virtually every business that follows the marketing concept designs a product to meet the needs and tastes of a preselected segment?

Watch a set of ads on TV that feature men and women. Try to imagine the characters with reversed roles (i.e. the male roles played by women and vice versa). Can you see any differences in assumptions about sex-typed behavior?

Much of this essay’s tone is ironic, and Miller clearly intends that many of his statements not be taken literally. How do you suppose he expects readers to react to each of the following? $\cdot$ “unless it was thought to offend good taste” (9) $\cdot$ “he would know that he had not lived his life for nothing” (15) $\cdot$ “no solution to any profound social problem is perfect” (16)

Interview some retired people. How are they reconstructing their identities? What opportunities do their desires present for marketers?

Describe the progressive learning model and discuss why this perspective is important when we market to subcultures.

The chapter describes efforts by some mainstream marketers to appeal to Muslim consumers by making halal products. Given the political attitudes some Americans hold regarding Muslims, is this a dangerous strategy or a courageous one? What are the potential pitfalls of this approach, and how would you handle it?

Religious symbolism appears in advertising, even though some people object to this practice. For example, a French Volkswagen ad for the relaunch of the Golf showed a modern version of The Last Supper with the tagline, "Let us rejoice, my friends, for a new Golf has been born." 105 A group of clergy in France sued the company and the ad was removed from 10,000 billboards. One of the bishops involved in the suit said, "Advertising experts have told us that ads aim for the sacred in order to shock, because using sex does not work anymore." Do you agree? Should religion be used to market products? Do you find this strategy effective or offensive? When and where is this appropriate, if at all?