No, I don't think that's true at all. Yes, with subcultures there is and probably always will be a subset within that is obsessed with oneupmanship over their c

No, I don't think that's true at all. Yes, with subcultures there is and probably always will be a subset within that is obsessed with oneupmanship over their colleagues, but that's not what is being described in the parent. The parent is discussing the idea that "advertising creates a problem and sells you a solution", and in specific they're focusing on how advertising shapes perceptions intentionally with the intent of making the product more desirable. Just do an image search for "funny salad" to understand what is going on - you'll see there's an entire meme dedicated to the absurd advertising of salads to women, who are always caught in mid-laugh as they eat their salad. Car commercials, especially for trucks, tend to have a soundtrack similar to that of an epic movie, usually with well built men driving the trucks and doing some sort of hard labor. Commercials directed at kids are even more shameless and will often just juxtapose kids sitting around bored out of their mind without [product] (often in black and white) and then suddenly there's colour and joy in life with [product]. Advertising has a very specific purpose and a lot of the focus is about creating an idea and a brand image, the idea that "these are the type of people who have our product and this is what they do at night or on the weekend." Kodak Moments were an entire marketing campaign for cheap consumer cameras, and now the term is synonymous for any good memory and that you need to take a picture of. (Granted, this example is no longer as relevant due to digital cameras, but you get the idea) Some subcultures have things to sell you - there are numerous kickstarters and other crowdfunded items that try to play to the sympathies and sensibilities of the loosely defined gamers, and unfortunately far too many people in this subculture are far too willing to part with their money. However, I'd argue that when it comes to philosophies or social movements, there's a message. And it's one you have more power about choosing to get into than you do with advertisement.s