BY SOFO ARCHON
Below are five damaging lies most advertisements want you to believe — be sure to avoid falling into their trap!
1. YOU ARE INCOMPLETE
Advertisements do their best to convince you that you’re not good enough as you are. Once they achieve that, they provide you with a “solution” to make you feel good again: that of buying products and services, of course.
2. EVERYTHING IS FOR SALE
Advertisements want to make you think that anything you want or need can be found on the market. Do you want to feel confident or important? Then buy this expensive car! Do you feel that you’re not beautiful or attractive? Then buy these shiny shoes! Do you feel anxious or stressed? Then consume magic pills!
3. MATERIAL WEALTH IS ALL THAT MATTERS
Another damaging lie promoted through advertisements is that acquiring material possessions is the key to a happy and fulfilling life. You needn’t look anywhere else for happiness and fulfillment, such as in pursuing creative work or building healthy relationships — there’s always a product that can substitute for those things.
4. SUCCESS IS MEASURED BY THE STUFF YOU OWN
Advertisements try to fool you into believing that if you have less and worse stuff than those around you, you’re a person to be looked down upon. This way they urge you to constantly compare yourself to others, compete with them, and empty your pockets buying things you don’t even need.
5. CONSUMING WITHOUT END IS OK
Lastly yet perhaps most importantly, advertisements try to convince you that your primary purpose in life is to consume, and that only by doing so can you fit into society. As a result, not only do they stress you to constantly hunt for the next best thing, but they also implicitly suggest that there’s nothing wrong with overconsumption, regardless of its immense negative environmental impacts.
In short, advertisements can be deceitful and dangerous. Once you realize this and stop buying into their lies, I assure you that you’ll be able to live a much simpler, happier and more environmentally-friendly life.
I hope you found this list helpful! If you’d like to read more of my thoughts on advertising and consumerism, click here.