MEZZANINE wrote:Are advertisers really to blame ? Or is it the fools who fall for it, after all if there weren't so many gullible idiots willing to buy crap they dont need there would be no-one for the advertisers to exploit.
Buy this and it will make you happier, make your neighbours jealous, and make you more attractive

It should not work, but it does time and time again.
This is disingenuous,
I'm sure every one here has been bought something or tried something because of an add on they saw or heard. It could have been on TV, or a magazine or on a label of the person shirt you admired. There has been numerous studies about the effectiveness of brand advertising and it shows that even the smartest of us can be coerced.
http://jp.fujitsu.com/group/fri/en/econ ... t-113.html http://www.jstor.org/pss/3150973 Through the use of advertising you get brand recognition among the consumer.
Who doesn't recognise the Adidas, Nike, Carlsberg... logo and has bought or been tempted to buy these items simply because of your association with the name (world cup maybe?). That's because what people recognise they are more likely to feel comfortable with. It will also move your brand name higher up the thought process hierarchy when people go to seek out items for which their product might satisfy.
Most of advertising is an attempt to define ones brand name with a set of attributes(like making your own dictionary) and allow the consumer to be comfortable with the company
It takes effort to move past this and examine perspective products by their actual merits and not the ones transcribed for you. Smart or not; if you don't realise the game your in, you can't choose not to play.
@ GG
Why are you restating mathematicc principles incorrectly as though they were somehow of your own devination.
If We cannot approach infinity the how do i solve for this?
solve for the lim as x--->inf in 100/x^2+5
finite numbers maybe be incoceivable less than infinity but they can be just sooo... by an inifinitely small amount.
Oh wise one.....