How Commercials Get Us To Buy Crap We Don't Need

What the video covers

• Advertising is everywhere, and the economy depends on consumers buying more, even when they don't need more and are often in debt.
• The goal of advertising is to make viewers say 'yes, I want this, I need this,' even for absurd or trivial products like a retro cowbell dispenser.
• AJ+ consults Jonas Sachs, an advertising executive and co-founder of Freerange Studios, to explain how brands influence consumers.
• The video notes people see around 3,500 ads a day, most of which imply the viewer is not rich, smart, or attractive enough without the product.
• Ads sell identity: they tell viewers who they are or who they should be, speaking to people at the level of identity and emotion.
• Sports and celebrity endorsements, such as Beckham and Coke, promise viewers they can become more like admired heroes by buying the product.
• Advertising often relies on fear of missing out, implying everyone else is part of a desirable group and the viewer is being left behind.
• Dove's Real Beauty Sketches, the most-shared YouTube ad of all time, used a stunt with a police sketch artist to show women are more beautiful than they think, and is an example of an emotionally resonant positive message.
• Positive-message campaigns can reach hundreds of millions and are shared because viewers feel they reflect their own truth.
• The video frames consumer culture critically, questioning how much of our desire is manufactured by marketing.