“Keeping up with the Joneses” refers to buying items to impress others rather than for personal desire. The phrase originated from a comic strip in the early 20th century and became part of American lexicon. Advertisers used this strategy to sell items and promote conspicuous consumption. This practice still exists today with high-tech devices.
“Keeping up with the Joneses” was a common phrase in 20th century America that is still in use today. It refers to the practice of purchasing items to impress neighbors or increase social standing, rather than out of desire for the items themselves. This practice is also known as “conspicuous consumption”. “Keeping Up with the Joneses” originated as the title of a popular comic strip in the early 20th century. It quickly passed into popular usage as a way to describe American consumer culture.
In 1913, cartoonist Arthur “Pop” Momand launched his cartoon Keeping Up with the Joneses in the New York Globe. The strip chronicled the misadventures of Aloysius P. McGinnis, whose wife was obsessed with maintaining a social standing equal to that of their wealthy neighbors, the Jones family. Ironically, the Joneses of the title were never actually seen by readers of the comic. The popular strip has been distributed nationwide, inspiring an animated film, a musical, and several related books. The title phrase had become part of the American lexicon by the time the cartoon ended in 1938.
The 20th century saw the rise of American consumer culture. Advertisers and manufacturers have played on a love of novelty and opulence to sell everything from automobiles to kitchen appliances. In the 1950s, a key part of this marketing strategy was selling new items to consumers who already owned similar items. One method of achieving this goal was ‘planned obsolescence’ – designing objects to be useless or obsolete in a short time. Another method was to promote conspicuous consumption, often referred to as “keeping up with the Joneses.”
The strategy was simple: The ads suggested that people who didn’t buy the latest car or popular item risked being seen as poor or socially backward by their peers. This “keeping up with the Joneses” approach was quite effective, even if those peers, like the Joneses of the comic, were never actually seen. The practice of buying the latest items to show social standing has persisted into the 21st century, with items such as smartphones and media players. New generations of these high-tech devices are sometimes brought to market within months of older versions. The phrase and its variations still enjoy widespread use in everyday usage and popular culture.
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