3 ms·

The usual excuse for advertising being morally acceptable is that it informs potential customers about the product. If it has nothing to do with the product the

by mrob 8y ago

The usual excuse for advertising being morally acceptable is that it informs potential customers about the product. If it has nothing to do with the product then its only possible purpose is deception.

chrisseaton 8y ago
If an advert doesn’t mention the product it seems very hard to say that it’s deveiving you about what the product will do, doesn’t it?
- chongli 8y ago
  It's deceiving you in a far less obvious and ham-fisted way: it's associating a brand with your lifestyle and your identity. It's using insights gained from psychology research to try to hack your brain into thinking that this brand is part of your tribe. And it works. To an obscene degree, really.
gingerbread-man 8y ago
The iconic "1984" Apple ad was about as abstract as anything on today's screens. It did tell users about the product, indirectly, by telling them about the values of the Apple brand and company. And I'd much prefer to watch that than the harrowing "Head-On: Apply directly to the forehead" commercial.
- masonic 8y ago
  telling them about the values of the Apple brand and company It was ad genius but said nothing about any Apple "values". It instead attacked the IBM/DOS world as an Orwellian nightmare disrupted by a hot, busty female. It was about destruction, not "values".
- wutbrodo 8y ago
  > And I'd much prefer to watch that than the harrowing "Head-On: Apply directly to the forehead" commercial. Haha that commercial is so entertaining in its absurdism
feri339 8y ago
I wouldn't say deception. It's more a manipulation. I'm sure there are hundreds studies in neuroscience and behavioral economics that tell advertisers exactly which buttons to push. Most ads, especially brand advertisement aren't supposed to effect an immediate reaction. Way down the line they may influence you subconsciously though.
ionised 8y ago
> The usual excuse for advertising being morally acceptable is that it informs potential customers about the product. And it's a bullshit excuse at that. Advertising uses concepts developed in propaganda and psychological warfare to play on human insecurities in order to make them feel inadequate without your product.

by mrob 8y ago

chrisseaton 8y ago

If an advert doesn’t mention the product it seems very hard to say that it’s deveiving you about what the product will do, doesn’t it?

chongli 8y ago
It's deceiving you in a far less obvious and ham-fisted way: it's associating a brand with your lifestyle and your identity. It's using insights gained from psychology research to try to hack your brain into thinking that this brand is part of your tribe. And it works. To an obscene degree, really.

gingerbread-man 8y ago

The iconic "1984" Apple ad was about as abstract as anything on today's screens. It did tell users about the product, indirectly, by telling them about the values of the Apple brand and company. And I'd much prefer to watch that than the harrowing "Head-On: Apply directly to the forehead" commercial.

masonic 8y ago
telling them about the values of the Apple brand and company It was ad genius but said nothing about any Apple "values". It instead attacked the IBM/DOS world as an Orwellian nightmare disrupted by a hot, busty female. It was about destruction, not "values".
wutbrodo 8y ago
> And I'd much prefer to watch that than the harrowing "Head-On: Apply directly to the forehead" commercial. Haha that commercial is so entertaining in its absurdism

feri339 8y ago

I wouldn't say deception. It's more a manipulation. I'm sure there are hundreds studies in neuroscience and behavioral economics that tell advertisers exactly which buttons to push. Most ads, especially brand advertisement aren't supposed to effect an immediate reaction. Way down the line they may influence you subconsciously though.

ionised 8y ago

> The usual excuse for advertising being morally acceptable is that it informs potential customers about the product. And it's a bullshit excuse at that. Advertising uses concepts developed in propaganda and psychological warfare to play on human insecurities in order to make them feel inadequate without your product.