Oh, Joe Consumer has always lapped it up hasn't he? Every hula hoop sold, every pair of 3-D glasses passed out at a cinema bears testament to that. It just is indicative of the corporate IQ in regards to pulling the average man's leg. They've listened to the lectures on market psychology, brand managment; they payed attention to the semi-literate pleas and musings of the common man for something to fill their christmas stockings that have some semblance of credibility and worth and they've adjusted their market strategies accordingly. When the mall kids wanted punk bands, they gave the world polished boy band punk poseurs who have copped the sound and image of the O.Gs just so. They payed attention to the old punk bands and their music and mass-market appeal and replicated it on a large scale for the masses to consume; all the while Joe Consumer being none the wiser. The corporate machines even gain credibility points with some kids, who believe they're becoming more enlightened. They are. At how to take the money and run. I think all of this has been said countless times before by people more qualified and much more articulate than I am.
My two cents, thanks for reading.