IMAGINE IF ADVERTISING TOLD THE TRUTH

You can spot the deception

IMAGINE IF ADVERTISING TOLD THE TRUTH...

Unfortunately the purpose of advertising it to sell products, no tell the truth...

In order to do that, ads must lure you in, convince you that it will satisfy your wants & needs, & that the product is full of benefits and no risk

What's the difference between needs & wants?

NEEDS are things you actually need to survive and function

WANTS are all the things the consumerist culture has told you you need to have a full and satisfying life.

Ads utilise Maslow's Hierarchy of needs to their advantage.

Need for food

Sure we need food, but do we need highly processed, low nutrient food with toxins, sugars and carbs?

Is it true that you will be in perfect BLISS if you eat this or will you be perfectly stuffed with an indigestion?

Ads capitalise on our need for food to the point of deception.

Are you really giving your child a cup of milk when you give them an Oreo cookie?

But don't you feel a little less guilty now giving them that Oreo cookie after seeing this association?

Need for safety & security

Ads for insurances usually utilise the FEAR element..

Even dinosaurs may attack you...

using SHAME & embarrassment here...

We are highly motivated to avoid both emotions.

Need for love and belonging

Who doesn't want to be surrounded by a loving family ... you can always hope that Coke can give you happy moments with a loving family or you can see through the false promise...

Need for esteem, strength, respect...

You will get all of that if you wear this deodorant... Imagine that... You will be a king with the heart of a lion.. and you will have a smug look on your face..

Self-actualisation needs

This need is used a lot in sport ads.. If you use Nike products, you are empowered to transform yourself, your life... meet you goals... but could you do all of that also if you just set your mind to it and wear unbranded sport clothes?

That was old fashioned marketing... It is manipulative as it sells you an imaginary story and big promises that go beyond the product advertised...

but it is a cat in front of the new age marketing lion ..

New age marketing uses behavioural science insights

I cover some of them in this substack...

... and the new field of neuromarketing...

this field "studies the brain to predict and potentially even manipulate consumer behavior and decision making"

as if we needed to be manipulated more by corporations for profit...

some examples below...

Sleep nudging:

"A 2015 study found that exposing smokers to the smell of cigarettes mixed with rotten eggs during “phase 2” (when the body prepares for deep sleep) led to a decrease in smoking for several days."

Could they increase preference for strawberry vapes in teens using same method?

Hormone manipulation

"In 2015 they found that dosing consumers with testosterone increased their preference for luxury brands"

Really!! using hormone injections to increase preference for a product!!! is that ethical?

Would that give women a moustache?

Could they for example spray oxytocin (hormone that induces affection) in shops selling baby products to make women buy more products that they don't really need?

Temporary neural inhibition

"Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) machines use magnetic fields to stimulate or depress nerve cells in the brain, temporarily “knocking out” certain areas in much the way a brain injury does"

Could they suppress disgust towards insects? YUM!

Corporations have so much power in their hands to manipulate and influence our feelings, beliefs and behaviours... The more we are informed, the better we can SPOT their tactics and the more we can counteract their effect.

About the author

Abir Ballan  is the co-founder of THiNKTWICE— Rethink. Reconnect. Reimagine. She has a Masters in Public Health, a graduate degree in special needs education and a BA in psychology. She is a children’s author with 27 published books. 

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