Put Your Money Down And Walk Away

And no-one gets hurt.

It’s new marketing for a brutal age. Gone are the days when we had to show you half-clad girls lounging on Ferraris – or on Exakta cameras, for that matter. We no longer need to entice you – all we do is threaten you and the money is ours.

Of course, pulling out a .38 and pointing it at you is frowned on in some jurisdictions. So we have to adopt more subtle means of extortion:

a. The yearly new model ploy. We tweak the settings on last year’s camera, re-write the spec sheet, move the model number up a figure, and there you are. A new camera that you MUST have.

b. The FOMO burn. If you do not have this new camera you will be left behind. Outdated, rejected, a failure. You better buy two to make sure that you’re protected from both sides.

c. The new mount/card/processor. If the simple change in nameplate doesn’t work we can clap in a new circuit to make your current camera stop working. Or pressure the software companies to turn your tap off. Pay up.

d. The old camera is made in the country that your nation holds as a deadly enemy. The new one is made next door. Change your camera or risk being a traitor.

e. We can control where your photos go – unless you buy the new camera, your friends and neighbours will be sent folders of your worst images.