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I'm not arguing that all advertising is misleading and evil, I'm arguing that the nature of the industry skews companies incentives towards intentionally mislea
by crdoconnor 11y ago
I'm not arguing that all advertising is misleading and evil, I'm arguing that the nature of the industry skews companies incentives towards intentionally misleading people.
Take Google for instance - it started out with good intentions and it has consistently blurred the distinction between its ads and content ever since. Why? Because that's how you get more ad dollars, of course. If being misleading didn't mean profits, Google wouldn't do it.
If you want to find the most egregious behavior in the advertising industry don't look at the small fry. Follow the trail of profit.
>And honest ads can help people find things they are genuinely looking for
They can, but that's a happy accident and a byproduct. The advertising industry is not geared to help connect people to things they want. It is geared towards invoking desires for things people didn't otherwise want and putting your name ahead of competitors in people's heads.
- punee 11y agoYes, the advertising industry is made up of magicians who make people desire things they don't want. Why is it you don't believe THAT's the happy accident and byproduct, while diffusing information is the main mechanism? If you'd ever tried to convince someone to buy something they don't want, you'd have a good idea about how likely that scenario is. Have you ever bought something you didn't want?
- crdoconnor 11y agoWhy is the notion that you can invoke desires so unbelievable to you? What exactly did you think the purpose of high production values advertising that tries to convey a lifestyle or invoke feelings of inadequacy? You think they'd do all that to 'diffuse information'? They're trying to hack your amygdala, not passing on a message. And yea, I've bought a McDonalds hamburger while drunk before that I felt disgusted by after.