"I'm not a big diamond fancier. But I don't understand how the DeBeers marketing approach is a "scam." Is it any different than marketing campaigns to create social pressure to buy a new car every year, own new HDTVs, fancy houses or the kind of toilet paper that bears use in the woods or thousands of other products sold through the American capitalist system?"
Yes, I agree. Diamond marketing is no more a scam than some car maker claiming you will be more of a man if you buy their vehicle. The difference is that (a) the automotive market is infinitely more competitive than the diamond market (it isn't controlled by a monopoly), and (b) car marketing hasn't convinced a substantial population of women that the true measure of love is the market "value" of a vehicle and nothing else qualifies. Yes, you can buy a vehicle for your girlfriend to show your love, but if you buy something else of a similar value, she won't feel that you love her less.
I am not suggesting that diamond advertising should be banned. I am merely suggesting that people should try to avoid being deceived by it.
We agree on that. What really pisses most guys off about DeBeers' diamond campaign is that they're at a helpless disadvantage when women demand diamond engagement rings and other diamond jewelry after marriage. Score one for the ladies and N.W. Ayer which brilliantly exploited a tense little psychological niche between the sexes.
It was Carol Channing with her title song in the Anita Loos Broadway production of "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" who turned the campaign into a marketing sensation. Marilyn Monroe's performance in the movie underscored it. Get used to it guys. My wife wears diamonds too.