If you think about how advertising works, you can partially inoculate yourself from this by changing your perception of ads. If two products are the same price

If you think about how advertising works, you can partially inoculate yourself from this by changing your perception of ads. If two products are the same price, but only one is advertised, the advertised product must be inferior because they are using your money to try to manipulate you. Next time you watch TV, notice the brands and consider their competitors. Advertisers tend to be inferior quality and optimizing for short-term gains over customer benefit in comparison to their competitors. Why does Mazda advertise so much more than Toyota? Because they provide less value per dollar, and have to make that up via thought manipulation.