Why everything you thought you knew was just a marketing ploy

We’ve all been there: scrolling through social media and falling victim to sponsored posts, only to regret our purchases when we receive our next credit card statement. Slick advertising isn’t new, but it is becoming more targeted. It’s like they’re inside our minds and we don’t even know it. But what if I told you a lot of what we think of as facts or traditions actually started as very successful ad campaigns?

1947 – Debeers – A Diamond is Forever

Yep, it wasn’t until after World War II when baby boomers were just being born that diamonds became the standard stone in an engagement ring. Before then there were still engagement rings with precious stones but diamonds were just another stone, not considered the standard.

1990’s – Make sure you drink 8 glasses of water per day

Before the 1990’s, water was mostly considered a utility. It’s still free out of any tap at most businesses in America, if you ask. A marketing genius figured out that by bottling it he could turn a utility into a product. Soon you had bottled water companies popping up left and right, and companies like Gatorade and Evian funded their own “scientific research companies” to come up with more reasons that people should drink their products. This also fueled the myth you need 8 glasses or (64 oz) a day to be healthy, even though no scientific study has every proven this. In actuality, 33 oz or one liter (metric) is enough for the average person, and most of your needed water intake is satisfied by the food that you eat.

2000’s – Fit Bit – 10,000 steps a day

Fitness experts disagree on everything: Keto verse Vegan, cardio verses weight training, even the nutritional value of an egg has been debated and gone in and out of style over the years. While experts say, “sitting is the new smoking,” there isn’t a magic number that makes one person healthier than another. Research shows that people who work in places like call centers where they sit for long periods at a time are less healthy (even if they hit a treadmill for an hour after work) than for instance servers in restaurants, who walk in short burst throughout the day.

Advertisers get paid very well to create an image and brand identity associated with their product. People unfortunately buy into it, creating a consumer driven economy. Some of these ad campaigns are so good they become engrained in our society so much that people can’t tell the smoke screen from the science.