Lipat, Jan Paolo M.

Group 3
11772115

Reaction Paper for the Movie: Syrup

The movie syrup presents a journey of a marketer towards his goal of becoming
successful and having a name of his own. I liked that it used narrations based on real
university courses in business school and relates it to the “real world” of corporate life as
portrayed in the movie. I am also fascinated at how “unconventional” Scat, the
protagonist, was able to generate his great marketing ideas to build a perception/image
in the minds of the consumer about a “syrup” and eventually increase the sales of the
beverage company. The sad things about the movie were the existence of manipulation,
violence and harm to the target consumers which made me realize and look back at some
of the ethical issues in the marketing function.
First, I have observed that the beverage companies in the movie used a form of
“deceptive marketing” in its pursuit to boost sales for their products. The companies used
false or misleading information just to capture the attention of its target audience, not
even purely inducing a sale (as exemplified by the Kok energy drink ad campaign) which
resulted to harm to one of its consumers because of the false perception that the ad
planted into their minds. Also, I have noticed that the products being marketed, or the
“syrup” itself is not safe or good for the consumers in the long run because of the health
hazards that it may bring. The movie did present the devastating consequences (even life
or death) of such deceptive marketing measures, and this reminded me of the “social
responsibility” that marketing managers should be concerned of.
Moreover, the movie shown that Marketing is powerful, and it can impact not just
the company itself but more so the life of the consumers, especially that perception and
image may vary from person to person. It all goes back to being humanistic, thinking
about the welfare of the people first, and I think this is a great and morally upright
beginning of a marketing endeavor.
Movies are indeed a great medium for self-reflection and it somewhat presents us
the realities and applications behind the concepts that we study in the classroom and as
presented in the books. As we end the term, the movie is a reminder that as we journey
towards knowledge and success, we must be able to be true and we should use our
capabilities not just to improve our economic conditions but more importantly to uplift and
take care of others.