3 ms·

Genuinely curious, do you mind explaining?

by Hasz 8y ago

jmts 8y ago
I've recently decided that a lot of advertising for childrens toys can be suspect, though I don't watch a lot of TV anymore so I'm not exposed to it anymore. To me the idea is that a company will build something that amounts ultimately to garbage, then back it with an exciting advertising campaign and catchy tune targeted at childen. Often it's a set of toys, so you're encouraged to collect them all. The children will then nag their parents for such a thing, until the parents relent. An example from my childhood would be the Mighty Max toys (or Polly Pocket for the female demographic). I know that once I was finally given a Mighty Max toy I quickly moved on to other things, with a total play-time probably measured in hours. Contrast that with Lego, where I was regularly building and creating cars, and castles, and bridges, and towers, for well over a decade. From my parent's perspective the Lego was much better value for money - and I'm sure they knew that - but they were sometimes coerced into buying junk.
andrepd 8y ago
Advertising is the psychological manipulation of your vulnerable mammal brain with the intent of tricking you into doing something which you wouldn't do absent that advert, and doing so for your detriment and for the advertiser's gain. I recognise exceptions, but I would say 95% of advertising falls into this description. In the end, it's about tricking you into making poor choices, bad for you, bad for others, bad for the planet and general society. Make you consume more, and make bad lifestyle choices. In this sense of "manipulation", it's an attack on my freedoms. Everywhere I go, whether I want it or not, I am assaulted by posters, videos, TV ads, Web ads, outdoors, sound speakers, and all other varieties of advertising. Whether I consent to it or not, I have people subtly implanting ideas on my brain. Ideas that I'm fat, ugly, that all the fun is happening somewhere else, that other families are all happy and wonderful, and that all of my yearnings and insecurities are solvable by having a Coke or whatever. It's insidious. They make people feel bad about their body, insecure about their families and love lives, all to make you drink sugary crap that will most likely harm your health. All of this bombardment of my vulnerable primitive mammal brain, I stress, happens without my consent. EDIT: I don't know if I was eloquent enough to communicate well my feelings about this. It's early, forgive me. :p

Genuinely curious, do you mind explaining?

by Hasz 8y ago

Genuinely curious, do you mind explaining?

jmts 8y ago

I've recently decided that a lot of advertising for childrens toys can be suspect, though I don't watch a lot of TV anymore so I'm not exposed to it anymore. To me the idea is that a company will build something that amounts ultimately to garbage, then back it with an exciting advertising campaign and catchy tune targeted at childen. Often it's a set of toys, so you're encouraged to collect them all. The children will then nag their parents for such a thing, until the parents relent. An example from my childhood would be the Mighty Max toys (or Polly Pocket for the female demographic). I know that once I was finally given a Mighty Max toy I quickly moved on to other things, with a total play-time probably measured in hours. Contrast that with Lego, where I was regularly building and creating cars, and castles, and bridges, and towers, for well over a decade. From my parent's perspective the Lego was much better value for money - and I'm sure they knew that - but they were sometimes coerced into buying junk.

andrepd 8y ago

Advertising is the psychological manipulation of your vulnerable mammal brain with the intent of tricking you into doing something which you wouldn't do absent that advert, and doing so for your detriment and for the advertiser's gain. I recognise exceptions, but I would say 95% of advertising falls into this description. In the end, it's about tricking you into making poor choices, bad for you, bad for others, bad for the planet and general society. Make you consume more, and make bad lifestyle choices. In this sense of "manipulation", it's an attack on my freedoms. Everywhere I go, whether I want it or not, I am assaulted by posters, videos, TV ads, Web ads, outdoors, sound speakers, and all other varieties of advertising. Whether I consent to it or not, I have people subtly implanting ideas on my brain. Ideas that I'm fat, ugly, that all the fun is happening somewhere else, that other families are all happy and wonderful, and that all of my yearnings and insecurities are solvable by having a Coke or whatever. It's insidious. They make people feel bad about their body, insecure about their families and love lives, all to make you drink sugary crap that will most likely harm your health. All of this bombardment of my vulnerable primitive mammal brain, I stress, happens without my consent. EDIT: I don't know if I was eloquent enough to communicate well my feelings about this. It's early, forgive me. :p