Just how manipulative is advertising?
We’ve heard this before: “Advertising makes people buy stuff they don’t want” Really? I guess I must have skipped manipulation 101 in adschool. Because I would love to have some of those superpowers. I would manipulate my boss to give me the best assignments. Maybe I would manipulate clients to buy more work instead of faffing around. Based on my experience, advertising does one of two things. 1. Announce something. 2. Create a personality for a company (branding). Advertising can brand someone as funny (Geico). Or trustworthy (State farm) Or a serious, no nonsense (Allstate) People gravitate towards the kind of person they like. I like Geico. Because I like to hang out with funny people. But really, that’s where advertising’s influence ceases. I’m pretty sure advertising can’t manipulate me into buying Geico’s insurance. I’m going to go with whoever gives the best service, or the best rate or whoever my friends recommend. Maybe things were different back in Madmen times or in the nineties, but today, advertising’s influence only goes as far as helping companies get an invite to the party. After that it’s up to advertisers to not blow it. So much for manipulative powers. Don’t agree? How about you give me some specific (recent) examples of advertising manipulation. I’d love to debate.
