How Advertising Can Manipulate Your Mind

DID you know that by the time an average American reaches the age of seventeen years he has seen about 350,000 television commercials? That is an average of more than fifty for each day of his life! And advertising bombards him from other sources too. A regular issue of a well-known news magazine recently contained twenty-one pages of news and ninety-seven pages of advertising, more than four of ads for every one of news!

Many people deplore much of modern advertising. They also link it to the current $170 billion U.S. consumer debt, an average of more than $800 for every man, woman and child in the country! Yet others say that advertising performs a valuable service by making us aware of useful products and services.

There is some truth in both views. Advertising can be helpful. However, there are pitfalls, chief of which are attempts to manipulate your mind. But many ask: “Why is this so? Why not just present the facts about products and let people decide for themselves?” There are several reasons.

Why the Manipulation?

One reason is that facts do not sell well. Advertising man Paul Stevens says: “You take a sincere, honest effort, and you put it up against a rock-’em sock-’em commercial that tries to gloss over the real truth, and generally the rock-’em sock-’em will get the attention.” A recent study using fictitious products illustrates the point:

“When Lite Bite Peaches were outweighed on a scale by a rival brand, the consumer panel got the deliberately misleading​—but overwhelmingly persuasive—​impression that Lite Bite contained fewer calories. . . . In four out of the six tests, the cheating commercial placed well ahead of the honest promotion in coaxing the audience into a buying mood.”​—Time, May 14, 1973.

The proved success of advertising geared to this mentality proves that admen have the general public sized up correctly.

Another reason for manipulation is that profit-hungry businesses often give advertising the job of selling things that people do not need. So it has to create a desire for them strong enough to overcome our practical side. Erich Fromm, the psychologist, observed that advertising tends to ‘create the man who wants more and more, instead of trying to improve his person more and more.’ This is particularly true of unnecessary luxury items such as tobacco, alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, cosmetics, candy and expensive automobiles.

A further problem for advertising is the competition among nearly identical products. Time magazine noted that when “a blindfolded customer can scarcely distinguish between competing brands, it is the adman’s task to find and exploit any slight difference, real or imagined, in his client’s product.”

Illustrating this point, New York City’s Consumer Affairs Commissioner told the Association of National Advertisers that advertising has convinced millions that [a name brand of bleach] is somehow better than the same stuff in any other bottle.’ The brand is priced well above that of competitors, yet sells far better. Did you know, as she points out, that bleach “is one of those products that must be identical among brands”? “It is chemically defined.”

But why is this kind of advertising manipulation so successful?

Why Manipulation Succeeds

As you may be aware, most advertising principles are based on a scientific analysis of what makes people act the way they do. It is called “motivational research.” Even children are analyzed with the goal of moving them to influence parents, while their own purchasing habits are molded for later years. Thus advertising appeals to basic motivations​—love, family, success, pleasure, security, and so forth. Artfully framing these appeals is usually the key to successful advertising.

This is where purchasers need to be alert. The best advice is given in the wise proverb:

“Anyone inexperienced puts faith in every word, but the shrewd one considers his steps.”a

Not only “every word” but also the settings of most advertising are “weighted” heavily in favor of the product. Some ads can leave people with an idea that is only half true, or possibly not true at all. Yet likely nothing said is actually false, as that would be illegal. How is this done? A review of some methods employed by advertisers will help you to avoid such manipulation.

“Weighting” the Words

Each word in an advertisement is carefully selected for maximum thrust, yet minimum fact if proof is lacking. Advertising men themselves call these “weasel words.” Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary defines a “weasel word” as one that is “used in order to evade or retreat from a direct or forthright statement or position.” See if you can pick them out in this television soap commercial:

A winsome young woman tells you that the soap she uses ‘helps my skin keep healthy looking.’ Are you not left with the idea that this particular soap “keeps skin healthy”? But did you notice the weighted words? (1) “Helps” is a word often used to avoid saying that a product actually does something. (2) “Looking” changes the word “healthy” from a fact to an opinion​—that of the soapmaker. Almost any soap can make the same claim, but the sponsor is counting on you to think of his brand when shopping.

Now see if you can find any deception in this one: An expensive headache remedy is said to contain ‘twice as much of the pain reliever doctors recommend most.’ You are led to believe that this pill has a double portion of a unique doctor-prescribed pain reliever. But before you buy, ask a few questions: What is the nonprescription pain reliever that doctors recommend most? Is it not the only one legally sold over the counter​—just plain aspirin—​any brand? ‘Twice as much’ . . . as what? Much is implied, but little is really supplied. The wording of the claim as a whole is designed to mislead.

Words such as introducing, different, special, exclusive sound forceful, do they not? But the reality is that they usually play up very minor variations among products that are basically the same. Or they highlight differences that have nothing to do with function, such as an added lemon scent. Listen for facts about why the product is superior. Such facts are often missing.

“Only our television has Splendocolor,” an ad may say. Certainly. No one else can legally use a trademarked name. But most color sets have the same devices using another name. This air of mystery and exclusiveness sells, but mystery additives and exotic names are less informative than telling a small child that it rains because the sky contains H₂O. You can disregard them if no meaningful definition is provided.

Natural, lemon-fresh, clear, pure and similar words are riding the crest of a recent trend back to “nature.” They get massive exposure to advertise almost anything. Ironically, a magazine cigarette ad claims: ‘ . . . refreshes naturally! Rich natural tobacco taste.’ Can you think of anything remotely natural about swallowing smoke? Firemen wear masks to avoid it, and unaddicted people often wish they had such protection around smokers.

A prominent advertising executive, David Ogilvy, acknowledged the deception employed in such ads when he commented on television:

‘I see the handsome athletic young man drawing in a mouthful of cigaret smoke and then inhaling it down into his lungs, and I’m appalled to think that I belong to the profession which can perpetrate that kind of villainy. I see other cigaret commercials, which are written by what we call in our business “weasel merchants.” They are intellectually dishonest and the men who wrote them and who paid for them know it.’

Factual Advertising

The foregoing examples illustrate just a few methods at the disposal of advertising to mislead with words. They show how necessary it is to look beneath the surface to separate facts from opinions or emotional appeals. On the other hand, not all advertising misleads. Factual advertising provides a contrast. Notice the difference:

A heavy-equipment manufacturer’s ad points out both the merits and drawbacks of diesel engines to allay public misconceptions. It says that they: “pollute far less than gasoline engines even without special emissions attachments,” and they use less and cheaper fuels than gasoline equipment. On the other hand, they “cost a little more to make. When improperly maintained they smoke under load. And some people complain of odor and noise.”

Gas-mileage figures in some recent auto ads are certainly helpful in these days of fuel shortage.

Can you see how facts characterize straightforward advertising? Emotion and adjective “puffery” are at a minimum. It is mainly information about the product. The ad may not be as exciting but is that what you want? Advertising man Stevens says: “That’s the key to judging advertising. There is a direct, inverse proportion between the number of adjectives and the number of facts. To put it succinctly, the more adjectives we use, the less we have to say.”

He suggests that to avoid advertising manipulation “you must strip away the innuendos and try to ascertain the facts, if any. . . . ask questions such as: How? Why? How many? How much?” Other appropriate questions would be: Do I need it at all? Is it actually better than the products of less expensive, less advertised competitors?

But there is still another weapon in the advertising arsenal that must be dealt with.

The “Weighted” Setting

Imagine yourself driving onto a highway during rush-hour traffic. Your car falters as you start to accelerate​—this setting houses a recent television gasoline commercial. Do you see how it is weighted to influence you? There are two factors​—YOU and a SCARE. How real is the problem? If you forget the setting and use what we learned about weighted words, the commercial itself tells you. They call the problem “hesitation.” It ‘can happen [not “will happen”] when gasoline doesn’t get to all the cylinders properly.’ Their gasoline ‘can help cure THAT KIND of hesitation.’

But ask: Does my car hesitate? If so, is THAT KIND of hesitation MY KIND? Or is it a more common cause of such problems​—faulty fuel pump, dirty carburetor or need of a tune-up? Instead, the ad says a mystery additive ‘can help cure’ only ‘THAT KIND of hesitation.’ It is added to ‘help gasoline flow more evenly.’ The weighted setting gives many viewers more confidence in the product than the advertiser evidently has!

Another television commercial shows a cute little feline cub walking around, over and through a new car model while the announcer says it is ‘in a class by itself’ and ‘like nobody else’s car.’ Do you see the weighted setting in this one? In addition to (1) the obvious appeal to your pride, (2) what does a cat have to do with a car, or, for that matter, the well-known ‘tiger in your tank’ with gasoline? Only what the products can “borrow” from the natural appeal of these creatures.

Sex is the most abused of such “borrowed” appeals. Newsweek magazine of April 16, 1973, notes that “in advertisement after advertisement these days, the sexy sell is bold and brassy.” Alluring figures provide the setting for advertising everything from candy to concrete. Substituting a prominent athlete or film star serves a similar purpose​—to tie in the product with one’s enjoyment of the setting.

Avoid this form of manipulation by merely ignoring the setting unless it is directly related to the product. Remember, the cats and koala bears, the beautiful girls and handsome men, the mothers and babies are all there to get your attention and stir your emotions. Appeals to pride, patriotism and family loyalty are all “borrowed” for the same purpose.

Avoiding Manipulation Saves Money

Advertising manipulation has led many to believe that unadvertised products of competitors are inferior. As we have seen, this is not always true.

Advertised “name brand” products may represent something good and be a protection to the consumer. But the premium price of such products often reflects the high cost of advertising. Some unadvertised store or “house” brands cost much less for this reason, and are of equivalent quality. A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, housewife who discovered this writes:

“To our surprise we were shocked. We were so used to buying advertised brands . . . We saved tremendously and the unadvertised brands work wonderfully.”

Another thought that may help your pocketbook: Getting things for the children that they like is only natural. But it cannot replace all other considerations. Do not let children manipulate your mind for the admen! Highly advertised sugary candy, cereals and soft drinks, for example, may replace necessary nutritional foods, as well as being expensive.

Thus it is helpful to understand how advertising tries to manipulate your mind. It helps you to distinguish between straightforward information and the kind that exaggerates product differences or creates desire for unnecessary items at your expense.

Yes, advertising can rule you​—or serve you. It is up to you.

[Footnotes]