Ads worth over half a trillion US dollars 

The global spending on advertising is around $674 billion every year. About $75 for every man, woman and child on the planet or the same as the GDP of Argentina. North America is the biggest spender on advertising ($212 billion) followed by Asia Pacific ($186 billion) and Western Europe ($100 billion).

A dollar a day

In North America, $366 is spent on advertising per person a year. That’s a dollar a day. Up to a billion people in the world LIVE on one dollar a day.

How many ads are we exposed to daily?

It’s impossible to say exactly how many ads we are exposed to a day and estimates vary a lot depending on the definition of “ads” and how “exposed to” is understood. The number of actual ads we are exposed is around 400 and of those we are aware of roughly a hundred. 

Total brand exposure

If all ads and brand exposure is counted, we are exposed to as much as 20,000 per day. But that includes every time you pass by a label in a grocery store. 

In any case there is a massive corporate presence in our lives. 

What are ads good for?

Some ads can help provide consumers with information useful for their purchasing decisions. 

But this is really not the general rule. Most often ads appeal to our subconsciousness by trying to make us associate positive emotions with certain products.

Ads are rarely informative at all

The most effective part of advertising is not information but “suggestions” addressed to our subconscious mind. The aim is to make us associate a product with emotions and wants such as sex, happiness, health, appearance, self-esteem, belonging, social status, identity. Advertising relies heavily on psychological theories and approaches to achieve this goal.

A hoax: Most ads are basically trying to trick us

It’s no secret that sex is used to sell everything from clothing and sunglasses to soft drinks and music. Or that many ads try to appeal to our desire for a sense of belonging and self-esteem instead of pointing out the quality of a product or the (ethical) story behind its making. Even if people know at a conscious level that the link between a beer and more sex appeal is nonexistent, the ads still work.

“The object of advertising is to get people to feel better about the product you're selling”. 

- Jerry Della Femina

Buying for the sake of buying

Many ads are also designed to glorify the joys of shopping, promoting the idea that buying things in itself is a pleasurable activity.

“Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don't have for something they don't need”. 

- Will Rogers

The problem of Greenwashing

Greenwashing can be defined as intentional disinformation through false green advertising claims. It is a major problem. Companies know that consumers increasingly are taking environmental concerns into consideration when making their purchase decisions. Therefore, some companies (with low moral) are tempted to overstate or even falsify the green profile of their products or services. This makes it even more difficult for companies with good ethics to stand out.

Some people see right through it

The good news is that a growing number of consumers are vigilant researchers when it comes to green claims - the so-called LOHAS consumers (lifestyles of health and sustainability). These people do not take marketing messages at face value or get fooled by brands that attempt to sell us a “good feeling” by appealing to our subconscious desires or wants. They will look right through companies’ greenwashing campaigns and punish them in the market by going elsewhere. The world needs more people like this!