this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2024
550 points (95.8% liked)
WTF
779 readers
2 users here now
The average c/WTF enjoyer
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Yeah, those ads that feel meaningful but really aren't.
Though the worst ones are the ones that use emotional manipulation, like making parents think a new minivan or a can of ground coffee will bring their family back together. I think the "play cool music with extreme visuals to make teenagers think we're cool" also qualifies for emotional manipulation, though it feels a bit less sinister. But the more I think about it, the less I feel like it is more sinister, since they are all preying on complex desires that they imply they will help with but can't really deliver on.
It's bit more sinister when you consider that they're emotionally manipulating children to buy their products. And they do this knowing that all they need to do is maintain branding to keep that teenager buying that product into adulthood, potentially for the rest of their lives. It's a get 'em while they're young and impressionable kind of approach.
It's all really fucked up when you think about it.
Yeah, that's what I was getting at with the last bit: both are sinister, just one is more obvious than the other.