I went into Marketing class thinking that it was going to be yet another boring required business course with yet another egoistic Kogod professor (one of those that use 80% of class time to talk about themselves). It turns out, though, that this class is anything but what I feared. Now don’t stop reading now. I know you’re thinking, “I really don’t care what you learned about in class, fool! I know everything there is to know about stupid marketing tricks anyway and I would never fall for them, because I am above that.” Even this statement demonstrates that the marketers have you under their control. They’re so good that you don’t even know you’re being manipulated.

Now it might sound like all advertising is deceptive and wrong, but that’s not the case at all. The role of advertising is to appeal to the benefits that that the potential consumer seeks, so marketing is really indirectly controlled by the consumer. One example of this is the emergence of all this organic/ healthy food. Think about the packaging of these products that you see at Whole Foods. The typical box of organic cereal most likely has a picture of a farm and a sunset, complete with some cows in the meadow and possibly even some grain in the field if you’re lucky. Whereas the typical box of store brand cereal actually has a picture of a bowl with cereal on it.

Some might argue that these organic food companies are being deceptive to the public; I hope nobody actually believes that their cereal comes from a little farm on the prairie. But is this form of fraud some crime? I think not. By using homely images and ornate text on their packaging, marketers are not only selling their product but also appealing to consumers’ desire to follow the healthy food trend. This, in turn, encourages them to lead healthier lives by changing their diet. So although the cows and the sunset might only be in our imagination, the lies that we are fed by corporate manufacturers might actually be beneficial to our wellness.

Now don’t misconstrue my words: obviously not all promotions are geared towards promoting a healthy lifestyle for the consumer. Look at all the commercials for kid’s food. The one that pops immediately into my mind is the one where all the kids in the cafeteria are sad because they have boring lunches. And then, bam!, out of nowhere, this little animated kid with spiky hair who’s riding a skateboard comes along, and showers little packages of ready-to-eat macaroni and cheese upon the kids who then rejoice in their newfound nutritious meal. NOT! Actually each of these little mac and cheese packets is about 500 calories each, and the fact that they are ready-to-eat probably sucks all the nutritious value out of them. Here we have an example of malevolent advertising— ads that are actually detrimental to a consumer’s lifestyle. The fact that the victims are children in this case makes the crime even more severe due to the whole childhood obesity epidemic engulfing the nation right now.

Another product whose advertising could have even more beneficial or detrimental effects on a consumer’s health is medicine. If one half of the commercials on TV are for food products, then the other half is dedicated to promoting medicines. Specifically, there is an influx of commercials for prescription medicine— birth control, anti-high cholesterol pills, bladder control pills, etc. What the consumer needs to be especially aware of when watching these ads is the list of side effects at the end. This list is usually read at a rapid pace by the TV announcer or can be seen in very small text at the bottom of your screen. Any benefits which these pills could possess and to which the characters of the commercial testify to can easily be overridden by a long inventory of side effects. Of course, if these side effects were fairly integrated throughout the commercial just like the benefits of the medication, consumers would be less likely to buy the product. They might even miss out on an opportunity to greatly alleviate their medical condition. It’s just another case where you’ve got to measure the costs and benefits.

Possibly my least favorite commercial for medication out there would be the “Head On” commercial, where the announcer says “Head On— apply directly to the forehead” about twelve times. The only image in this commercial is a hand rubbing what appears to be glue-stick on a forehead. This is an example of marketing a product based on hammering it into the consumer’s brain through repetition. However this ad is so devoid of appeal and so annoying that the repetition actually works against it. The side effects and details about the product are not even included. I greatly hope that people do not actually use undefined products like this without going to the store and reading the ingredients or something, but that might be too much to wish for.

You don’t need to take a marketing class to realize that marketing can either work in your favor or against it. Weigh your options carefully and never think that you’re above deception. Keep in mind that as a consumer you have the right and ability to choose which products will benefit you the most.