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Today my girlfriend spoke about wanting a cinnamon roll, and later in the day her iPhone Facebook app showed an advertisement for cinnamon rolls. We were tryin

Today my girlfriend spoke about wanting a cinnamon roll, and later in the day her iPhone Facebook app showed an advertisement for cinnamon rolls. We were trying to determine if maybe she had seen that same ad earlier in the day on Facebook, and it planted the craving in her head. Regardless, it was a very freaky experience. I doubt Facebook is listening, but it's likely their ads are inadvertently influencing us. As we scroll quickly through our news feeds, we automatically ignore most ads. But they are still making an impression.

jordigh 9y ago
> We were trying to determine if maybe she had seen that same ad earlier in the day on Facebook, and it planted the craving in her head. People don't seem to really understand how nefarious ads are. We think we're so smart. We won't be influenced by ads. No way we're falling for that. But if you know what "just do it", "the happiest place on Earth" or "think different" refer to, regardless of you opinions of those products, you have already been influenced by ads, and your next buying choices will reflect that. We're frail, easily manipulated creatures, unprepared for the combined centuries of expertise that hordes of advertisers can control us with.
- throwaway613834 9y ago
  > But if you know what "just do it", "the happiest place on Earth" or "think different" refer to, regardless of you opinions of those products, you have already been influenced by ads, and your next buying choices will reflect that. I beg your pardon? I know where the "happiest place on Earth" is and yet I have only ever been there once... because I was taken there by others, not because I chose to go. Not sure how my buying choices have ever even remotely taken that slogan into account.
  - quesera 9y ago
    And your discriminating taste is duly signaled to the teeming HN masses. But you should make an effort to think more inclusively and creatively. I think you'll find GP's message quite straightforward. For the record, I will signal that I have no idea where the happiest place on earth is. My guess was some cruise line or other, but that seems inconsistent with your consumer experience.
    - majewsky 9y ago
      Disneyland AFAIK
  - jordigh 9y ago
    Ads essentially control the domain of discourse. Suppose you did want to go to a theme park. You will have to consider Disneyland as a possible option, because you're keenly aware of it. Ads aren't just trying to convince you that something is great; they're also trying to make sure you just always know the product is a possibility, that it always factors in your choices, even in your choice to consciously reject it. To use a cliché, the opposite of loving a product isn't hating it; it's being indifferent to it. Also, the fact that you've already been there means the ads are working. Whether it was your choice or not is less important. You have already been made a consumer.
    - throwaway613834 9y ago
      > Also, the fact that you've already been there means the ads are working. Whether it was your choice or not is less important. You have already been made a consumer. You seem to be pretty adamant about shoving your wrong idea down my brain even though I'm explicitly telling you you're wrong. I'm telling you I had zero input into whether I go there the first time (others wanted to go while we were around the area and I couldn't care less whether we went there or anywhere else) and that I have since never been there since because I still cannot care less whether I go there or not. I've literally completely forgotten about its existence every time I've been in the area. My reaction to ever going there is exactly the same as it would be to any other theme park: "okay" if I've never been there or if I've enjoyed it before, or "shrug" otherwise... irrespective of the ads. In other words: unlike your claims, I am neither "keenly aware of it", nor do I "always know the product is a possibility", nor does it "always factor into my choices", nor is my choice to "consciously reject it", nor are the ads "working" by "already making me a consumer". Ads or no ads, Disnelyland or Foobarland, I would have been there the first time just the same, and not there since then. The ads just got the slogan into my brain and literally did nothing else.
      - jordigh 9y ago
        It's not a nice feeling to know your mind has been hijacked. But it has been. Ads are very effective.
- natecavanaugh 9y ago
  This reminds me of the Derren Brown video about the subliminal effects of our surroundings [1]. I agree, we like to discount them, but acknowledging them very often also leads to arguments about the effect of all TV, music, games, general media consumption on behavior and thoughts. It's real, but so hard to quantity, which leads to benefits for those who can and will exploit, but limits those who try to point it out. [1] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YQXe1CokWqQ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YQXe1CokWqQ
IAmGraydon 9y ago
You’re assigning false significance to a coincidence.
- uoaei 9y ago
  There are many people with the same experience. It's happened to me. It would be pretty lucky if they were coincidences for everyone.

jordigh 9y ago

> We were trying to determine if maybe she had seen that same ad earlier in the day on Facebook, and it planted the craving in her head. People don't seem to really understand how nefarious ads are. We think we're so smart. We won't be influenced by ads. No way we're falling for that. But if you know what "just do it", "the happiest place on Earth" or "think different" refer to, regardless of you opinions of those products, you have already been influenced by ads, and your next buying choices will reflect that. We're frail, easily manipulated creatures, unprepared for the combined centuries of expertise that hordes of advertisers can control us with.

throwaway613834 9y ago
> But if you know what "just do it", "the happiest place on Earth" or "think different" refer to, regardless of you opinions of those products, you have already been influenced by ads, and your next buying choices will reflect that. I beg your pardon? I know where the "happiest place on Earth" is and yet I have only ever been there once... because I was taken there by others, not because I chose to go. Not sure how my buying choices have ever even remotely taken that slogan into account.
- quesera 9y ago
  And your discriminating taste is duly signaled to the teeming HN masses. But you should make an effort to think more inclusively and creatively. I think you'll find GP's message quite straightforward. For the record, I will signal that I have no idea where the happiest place on earth is. My guess was some cruise line or other, but that seems inconsistent with your consumer experience.
  - majewsky 9y ago
    Disneyland AFAIK
- jordigh 9y ago
  Ads essentially control the domain of discourse. Suppose you did want to go to a theme park. You will have to consider Disneyland as a possible option, because you're keenly aware of it. Ads aren't just trying to convince you that something is great; they're also trying to make sure you just always know the product is a possibility, that it always factors in your choices, even in your choice to consciously reject it. To use a cliché, the opposite of loving a product isn't hating it; it's being indifferent to it. Also, the fact that you've already been there means the ads are working. Whether it was your choice or not is less important. You have already been made a consumer.
  - throwaway613834 9y ago
    > Also, the fact that you've already been there means the ads are working. Whether it was your choice or not is less important. You have already been made a consumer. You seem to be pretty adamant about shoving your wrong idea down my brain even though I'm explicitly telling you you're wrong. I'm telling you I had zero input into whether I go there the first time (others wanted to go while we were around the area and I couldn't care less whether we went there or anywhere else) and that I have since never been there since because I still cannot care less whether I go there or not. I've literally completely forgotten about its existence every time I've been in the area. My reaction to ever going there is exactly the same as it would be to any other theme park: "okay" if I've never been there or if I've enjoyed it before, or "shrug" otherwise... irrespective of the ads. In other words: unlike your claims, I am neither "keenly aware of it", nor do I "always know the product is a possibility", nor does it "always factor into my choices", nor is my choice to "consciously reject it", nor are the ads "working" by "already making me a consumer". Ads or no ads, Disnelyland or Foobarland, I would have been there the first time just the same, and not there since then. The ads just got the slogan into my brain and literally did nothing else.
    - jordigh 9y ago
      It's not a nice feeling to know your mind has been hijacked. But it has been. Ads are very effective.
natecavanaugh 9y ago
This reminds me of the Derren Brown video about the subliminal effects of our surroundings [1]. I agree, we like to discount them, but acknowledging them very often also leads to arguments about the effect of all TV, music, games, general media consumption on behavior and thoughts. It's real, but so hard to quantity, which leads to benefits for those who can and will exploit, but limits those who try to point it out. [1] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YQXe1CokWqQ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YQXe1CokWqQ

IAmGraydon 9y ago

You’re assigning false significance to a coincidence.

uoaei 9y ago
There are many people with the same experience. It's happened to me. It would be pretty lucky if they were coincidences for everyone.