One of my many jobs in life was as an advertising salesman. My job was to concoct all manner of ways and methods to entice people into buying things. I was creative, so I was good at it. In the course of my training, I learned many of the huge array of psychological techniques advertisers use to get you to buy. They prey on your attachments, your behaviours, your hopes and aspirations, then use them against you to lure you in. Your life will be so much better with their product, you’ll save time, they will relieve stress, make things easier, help you fulfil your dreams. And of course, as we all know, they don’t. As soon as you have the latest thing, they are working on the next thing, then the next, and the next. For economies to grow, countries need this process to happen at ever increasing rates. It keeps people in jobs and is a sign of prosperity and economic stability. But, as Karl Marx said over a century ago, Capitalism is a trap that allows the rich to flourish at the expense of the worker. They have to keep us on the treadmill.

Advertisers know very well that people are addicted to their products. They profit off our addictions. There is a term in psychology called Cruel Optimism. It is a term coined by Lauren Berlant to describe a condition of desiring something that is actually harmful or detrimental to you. We can apply Cruel Optimism to so many of the things we crave, even toxic relationships, despite us knowing full well they aren’t good for us. We love fast food and take away’s, even though we know they are killing us, yet we cannot stop eating them. There is a common, cruel misconception that you can control deep-rooted, psychological issue such as obesity, depression or addiction with a simplistic, individual solution – ‘just eat healthy‘ ‘cheer up‘ or ‘Get a grip‘. That is the cruelty of it. You are made to feel weak if you cannot stop the compulsions they’ve created. 

I’ve managed to give up several addictions in my life: cigarettes and alcohol to name two. It is incredibly difficult, it took me years to do and I failed many times. They are lifelong struggles that never get easier. After twenty-eight years off the ciggies, and ten years off the booze, I am still tempted. So, my favourite brands are ones I can’t have any more: Southern Comfort, Benson and Hedges, and Chateauneuf du Pape. I’m just pleased I’ve managed to beat the advertisers at their own game, but they still win in the end.