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Both Douglas Rushkoff documentaries center around the ideas of “Cool Hunting” and “The Persuaders” in advertising. The first documentary goes over the search for what’s cool, targeting young people on the top 5% and put their interests at the forefront of the top trends. Further, it talks about how the hobbies, taste, and style of these kids may touch a dangerous field. For example, with the popularity of Britney Spears and her sexual promiscuous image. However, the caveat to cool hunting is those kids who source these fads lose interest fast for now everyone has it. So, the hunt never ends. Meanwhile, “The Persuaders” explains the many ways in which advertisers and companies win over consumers through elements that trigger emotions and appeal to the needs of people. Eventually, these products and brands integrate itself in people’s mundane lives.

How would these documentaries look today? 2021 brings to the table new forms of “cool” and how to find them as opposed to in the early 2000s like in “The Merchants of Cool.” The synopsis of the ducumetarly (2001) said “Marketers have to find a way to seem real: true to the lives and attitudes of teenagers; in short, to become cool themselves. To that end, they search out the next cool thing and have adopted an almost anthropological approach to studying teens and analyzing their every move as if they were animals in the wild” (par. 5). Nowadays, we have the world of influencers. Much like the Sprite endorsements of rappers and the Insane Clown Posse, our social media influencers are how we navigate our daily consumption.  One example I can think of for young teens now is Charli Dimelio on TikTok. TikTok in general has entered the mass viral sensation of “cool” in which everyone participates, young and old. However, their target audience is young teens to young adults.  Charli, as well as many of her fellow “blue-check verified” peers, influence the trends of today. It goes as far as Dunkin naming a drink after Charli Dimelio because in her videos, she mostly appears to be drinking a Dunkin Donuts iced coffee. Thus, advertising sees opportunity in this growing superstar as a marketing ploy. It sends a different message when those on social media take the ordinary kid making content on social media and make them famous. However, that is the cool hunting of today. Instead of interviews, there are just social media analytics and algorithms. The content you make attracts viewers, viewers attract sponsors and endorsers. Eventually, these kids become models and also endorse products ranging from makeup to clothes. Their internet popularity earns them a ticket straight into the advertising world of product placement.  

This steers a lot of courses in self-identity, style, and health for impressionable minds. In my time in high school, the influencer craze was just starting and had yet evolved into what it is today. When I look back, I think back to those women who worked for Detox tea and weight loss coffee brands. They’d follow and direct message any high school girl like me at the time to endorse these products. Along the way, a lot of girls did end up following along this path. However, it never is as successful as other means.  Youtubers and Instagram models were of this realm of power that TikTokers today have. They also lived in the world of blue checks that made them seem important. In that, our generation is influenced in another way. Much like in “The Merchants of Cool,” society posts blame on media and advertisements that shove risqué images and opulent lifestyle images in people’s faces. In explanation, Rushkoff (2001) says “At the video music awards last year, when Britney finally and famously came out of her clothes, she wasn’t just pleasing eager young boys. She was delivering a powerful missive to girls. Your body is your best asset” (30:00). However, our stars of today sell the idea of internet stardom. A lot of these kids are heavily endorsed by companies, and in turn, have a luxurious life ready for them. I still question how a group of teenagers and young adults managed to get a multi-million-dollar house to live in together to film Tiktoks. Then again, it is like the Insane Clown Posse “selling out” to a big-time record label and charting top 20. The journey like fits into what Rushkoff says about the persuaders. Rushkoff (2004) indicates “as long as we are thinking about ourselves, we become better consumers” (51:41).

 So, to re-write these documentaries I would reach out to these kids today. Ask as to why they look to these tiktokers and what makes their now “career” so admirable? In the Frontline documentary “The Persuaders” (2004), it is said “A trained psychiatrist Rapaille developed a theory that they are unconscious associations for nearly every product we buy” (31:43). So, what are today’s associations? Logically, I would think it was like I said before taking these top 5% of kids using them and their content as the advertisements on social media. These important people most of the time being very young can leave a powerful impression. If it’s the kids you see yourself going to school with, then it becomes all the more impactful because cool seems more attainable. Simply kids making silly videos can turn into viral sensations the next day. The songs they dance to have a tendency end up on the top 10 songs played on the radio. Brands fish them out and conjure modeling contracts with them. Musicians put them in their music videos, and a bunch of other things. Anthropology studies of the market have become easier than ever before with all the information at one’s fingertips. The cool kids are now the advertisements, they are studied but also put-on display.