Some advertising agencies use envy as a marketing tool, since products sell best when they evoke envy in the consumer (van de Ven, Zeelenberg & Pieters, 2009). Psychological researchers have found that attempts to gain envied social status influence consumer choices, such as the desire for "green" products when shopping in public (but not in private), even when those products cost more than their nongreen equivalents (Griskevicius, Tybur, & Van den Bergh, 2010). And speaking of becoming green from envy, there is also being green with wanting to be envied. Buyers of petrol-electric hybrid cars report that social influence and projecting a green image were more important considerations than quality and appeal in their purchases (Chua, Lee & Sadeque, 2010).Social status has always made sense to me as a selling point for products. For example, how Apple positioned itself as a maker of "cool" products.
I'm not entirely convinced by the "green" product argument in this article, though. It could be about social status (and perhaps that's well supported by the specifics of the test set up), but it could also be about fitting in with the surrounding crowd. That's not so much about increasing status as it is about not drawing negative attention.
While it's not talked about nearly as much as striving for a higher social status, a lot of what people do (frequently unconsciously) is to avoid drawing too much attention. (The negative effects documented in this article of envy are one of a huge number of reasons why.)