Multi-Level Marketer: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 17:43, 3 April 2020 (view source) Looney Toons (talk \| contribs) (Making a joke about the name of a social program is not an example of a multi-level marketing scheme. It has to be more than just a namecheck.) ← Older edit		Latest revision as of 17:11, 19 June 2023 (view source) HLIAA14YOG (talk \| contribs) No edit summary
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Line 1: {{trope}} ~~{{trope workshop}}~~ ~~{{tropestub}}~~ A stock character, especially in parody, the '''Multi-Level Marketer''' insists that they are [[Insistent Terminology\|an Independent Business Owner]] and have an exciting business proposal, but won't explain what it is... but they are just as insistent that it's not a [[Ponzi\|Pyramid Scheme]] and that there is [[Suspiciously Specific Denial\|no selling involved]]. Invariably, the loudmouth in the cheap suit insists that you too can join the [[Fiction 500\|Fortune 500]] and [[Get Rich Quick Scheme\|Get Rich Quick]]. Just as inevitably, they turn out to be peddling Amway[[Tradesnark\|®]] – or any of a long list of other cookie-cutter schemes which operate under the same or similar business model. Buy the product, drone on [[Ad Nauseam]] to your friends to not only buy the product but resell it to others, and eventually you can be a Direct Distributor at the top of [[Insistent Terminology\|what they insist]] is [[Suspiciously Specific Denial\|not a pyramid]]. And that rival soap company? To the most devout followers of the Amway® cult, Procter & Gamble™ must be [[Deal with the Devil\|linked directly]] to [[Satan]] based on [[wikipedia:image:P&G logo.jpg\|this logo]], a [[Everyone Is Satan in Hell\|mockery of Revelations 12:1]] ("And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of 12 stars.") since it has 13 stars instead of 12. They might even invite you to a party, but that gathering will turn out to be yet another sales pitch. The "Tupperware® party" was the original, but this model has been extended to other lines and brands... including a few marketing [https://www.vox.com/2014/10/17/11631986/its-hard-out-there-for-a-sex-toy-entrepreneur sex] [https://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132402&page=1 toys] or lingerie. Step One: Find the latest hot multi-level marketing scheme,; ~~invoke~~Step Two: Invoke a bit of [[Artistic License Economics]] ~~and~~; [[Step Three: Profit]]. Spend the rest of your days living the [[American Dream]] the Amway® way, driving around suburbia in a Mary Kay®-style pink Cadillac®. [[Results Not Typical]] as a few people at the top of the "multi-level marketing" pyramid will prosper, but there are limited returns for most of the others. If they're peddling cosmetics, why not add a bit of [[Animal Testing]] controversy for good measure on the presumption that [[Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped]]? Line 14 ⟶ 11: {{examples}} ~~<!-- Please keep all of the section headers on the page until everybody agrees that the trope is ready to launch. -->~~ ~~== [[Advertising]] ==~~ ~~== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==~~ == [[Comic Books]] == * [[Larry Hama]]'s run on the ''[[G.I. Joe]]'' comic book, in one memorable twist, reveals the Cobra Commander as a used car salesman driven to madness by personal loss and misfortune, who [[From Nobody to Nightmare\|built his terrorist army]] through propaganda and the proceeds from Amway-style pyramid schemes. ~~== [[Fan Works]] ==~~ == [[Film]] == * ''[[Top Secret (film)\|Top Secret]]'', a sequel to the ''[[Airplane!]]'' parodies, has the main character's fiancée and love interest working in some backward and distant Third World jungle, selling Supperware™ (an [[Bland-Name Product\|ersatz of Tupperware]][[Tradesnark\|®]]) to the primitive natives. ~~== [[Literature]] ==~~ == [[Live-Action TV]] == * ''[[Almost Live]]'', a sketch comedy series which originated at Seattle's KING-TV, once did a bit where a [[Bad Boss\|bad-tempered bully of a boss]] is promoted and replaced (literally) by a box of snakes. The box then gets promoted and replaced with the greatest horror of all: a guy who sells Amway®. ~~== [[Music]] ==~~ ~~== [[New Media]] ==~~ <!-- Note: Both Web Original and New Media are for works that originated online. The distinction is that New Media works allow for feedback and audience participation - if a work doesn't allow for this, then it's a Web Original, not New Media. --> == [[Newspaper Comics]] == * ''[[Bloom County]]'' and the "Mary Kay Commandos". The focus is on the use of animal testing before cosmetics can be marketed to humans, and not on the marketing structure per se, but Mary Kay (and its rival, Avon) are well-known examples of multi-level marketing structures. ~~== [[Oral Tradition]], [[Folklore]], Myths and Legends ==~~ ~~== [[Pinball]] ==~~ ~~== [[Podcast]]s ==~~ ~~== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==~~ ~~== [[Puppet Shows]] ==~~ ~~== [[Radio]] ==~~ ~~== [[Recorded and Stand Up Comedy]] ==~~ ~~== [[Tabletop Games]] ==~~ ~~== [[Theatre]] ==~~ ~~== [[Video Games]] ==~~ ~~== [[Visual Novel]]s ==~~ ~~== [[Web Animation]] ==~~ == [[Web Comics]] == * ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' had [https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2002-11-25 one of these] as a throwaway gag. == [[Web Original]] == * ''[[Riff Trax]]''. One of Kevin's [[Overly Long Gag]]s is the minutes-long "Amway Sketch" during Avatar. which was [[Actually Pretty Funny]]. ~~== [[Western Animation]] ==~~ ~~== Other Media ==~~ ~~== [[Real Life]] ==~~ {{reflist}} <!-- If you are not comfortable defining categories for pages, leave everything after this line as it is and trust to Wiki Magic to complete the section for you. If you are comfortable defining categories for pages, add categories after this line and delete the "Pages Needing Categories" category. --> [[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]] [[Category:Advertising Tropes]] [[Category:Pages Original to All The Tropes]] ~~[[Category:Pages needing more categories]]~~ [[Category:Occupation Tropes]] [[Category:Stock Characters]]