People themselves become advertisements. Literally, in the form of wearing and associating with certain brands, and figuratively through how they live their lives and give example to others.

The way this system is set up, we are raised to be nothing more than programmed consumers, taught to live as slaves for the system, toiling away according the system’s rules and values. It may seem natural that everyone around you works, dresses, and talks in a similar way–but this is an engineered reality meant to suppress your individuality and your access to the truth.

Advertising is the engine of the free market capitalist system–stamping out the most integral product–the consumer himself.

Public Relations

Corporations, governments and other interests often turn to public relations firms in order to improve their image or sway public opinion. For example, during the run up to the Gulf War, the US government and powerful Kuwaiti interests hired PR giant, Hill & Knowlton, to convince the American public to support the war. Hill & Knowlton was paid over $1 million A MONTH by Kuwaitis living in the US. In return, the firm created numerous VNRs (video news releases) to sell the war to the American people. These fake news items were aired as real news on TV stations throughout the US.

Even more damning, Hill & Knowlton also organized the fake PR event in which the daughter of the Kuwaiti-US ambassador posed as an “anonymous Kuwaiti girl” and claimed to have seen Iraqi soldiers “taking babies out of their incubators.” The entire incubator baby story was fake, cooked up by Hill & Knowlton.

Propaganda

A message directly aimed at influencing people’s opinions rather than simply providing information. Much advertising falls into the category of propaganda. It could even be argued that all advertising (or all media) is propaganda. Nevertheless, some messages are more deceptive and contrived than others.

Deception and advertising are nearly interchangeable. While most of us may laugh at stupid ads and feel that we are not affected by the transparent gimmicks and persuasions of advertising, its actual influence is very deeply ingrained, in ways we cannot even imagine, in ourselves and our culture. Advertising’s influence doesn’t stop when you turn off the TV or look away from a billboard, it’s already in you and all of those around you; it defines us. Every encounter you have with another person, every judgment you make, your tastes, dislikes, associations–it’s all highly influenced by advertising.

The explicit goal of advertising is to make you want the product being sold–whether you need it, whether it’s good for you, or not. As a result, deception and manipulation are the name of the game. We would do well to question the way we are “sold” the news, the war, etc. in the same way we question advertising.

Evidence

• According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, “The average American is exposed to about 3000 advertising messages a day, and globally corporations spend over $620 billion each year to make their products seem desirable and to get us to buy them.”

• Advertisers are resorting to ever more deceptive techniques to persuade consumers. Guerilla marketers actually plant fake people in the real world to promote certain products. 6