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> It's as if there's a line between actively lying ("Studies show that men who buy this car will find many many women attracted to them") and just putting it th

> It's as if there's a line between actively lying ("Studies show that men who buy this car will find many many women attracted to them") and just putting it there suggestively I doubt pretty girls in ads are actually supposed to mean the goods they advertise make a man more attractive. Who (except teens) would believe that, consciously or subconsciously? You just get attracted yourself and that's enough, simply seeing a pretty girl fires the hormones and neurotransmitters making you feel good about what she advertises, no semantic load necessary.

nitrogen 6y ago
It's strictly not semantic, it's happening at an instinctive level. These backdoor hacks into the legacy code of our brains are the problem.
bonoboTP 6y ago
Nobody would believe drinking Coke will make you live free and happily. Still their marketing messaging is about connecting Coke with a youthful, carefree, liberating experience, friends, fun. You wouldn't think eating candy bars will make you athletic. But they market it with athletes and active people playing soccer etc. They don't show some fat dude sitting in the dark in front of the computer shoving candy and chips and coke in his face and becoming diabetic. The associations can be immediate if repeated often enough. When picking a product you don't reason "okay this will make my life X", but you feel a familiarity, a draw, a positive emotion. Not necessarily consciously. But especially after a stressful day, in the supermarket you will be more prone to emotional, autopilot handling.
webmaven 6y ago
> I doubt pretty girls in ads are actually supposed to mean the goods they advertise make a man more attractive. Who (except teens) would believe that, consciously or subconsciously? How about chewing gum and mint ads? Many try for messages that are essentially "don't get cock-blocked by your bad breath" or something similar. And they work.
monort 6y ago
Research shows, that car can influence attraction. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c86a/142c0ae2d70d95f6292af634b6bbc7d43a05.pdf https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c86a/142c0ae2d70d95f6292af6...

nitrogen 6y ago

It's strictly not semantic, it's happening at an instinctive level. These backdoor hacks into the legacy code of our brains are the problem.

bonoboTP 6y ago

Nobody would believe drinking Coke will make you live free and happily. Still their marketing messaging is about connecting Coke with a youthful, carefree, liberating experience, friends, fun. You wouldn't think eating candy bars will make you athletic. But they market it with athletes and active people playing soccer etc. They don't show some fat dude sitting in the dark in front of the computer shoving candy and chips and coke in his face and becoming diabetic. The associations can be immediate if repeated often enough. When picking a product you don't reason "okay this will make my life X", but you feel a familiarity, a draw, a positive emotion. Not necessarily consciously. But especially after a stressful day, in the supermarket you will be more prone to emotional, autopilot handling.

webmaven 6y ago

> I doubt pretty girls in ads are actually supposed to mean the goods they advertise make a man more attractive. Who (except teens) would believe that, consciously or subconsciously? How about chewing gum and mint ads? Many try for messages that are essentially "don't get cock-blocked by your bad breath" or something similar. And they work.

monort 6y ago

Research shows, that car can influence attraction. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c86a/142c0ae2d70d95f6292af634b6bbc7d43a05.pdf https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c86a/142c0ae2d70d95f6292af6...