> > The entire point of advertising is manipulating human beings.
> No the point is to connect products to interested consumers.
You're both right in identifying points of advertising, and they're not in conflict.
Advertising has _two_ points, which I phrase as:
1. Increasing consumer awareness
2. Increasing consumer demand
Increasing consumer awareness generally feels useful: that's finding out what baby products exist, or showing people a new invention or service.
Increasing consumer demand generally feels manipulative: that's showing sugary cereals and crap toys to children, or associating vaping with success, etc.
The two goals usually are working together — but I find it useful to separate which parts of the advertisement are doing what.
I see it differently. It's not prediction based on anything statistical but based on one's understanding.
I've made it a habit to ask myself what I expect the output to be for any programming operation, and why. It forces me to gain clarity into my mental model of what's happening, and it immediately highlights deficiencies in my model when it's proven wrong.
I ask the same of others when I pair program with juniors or interviewees. I find super useful all around.
> No the point is to connect products to interested consumers.
You're both right in identifying points of advertising, and they're not in conflict.
Advertising has _two_ points, which I phrase as:
1. Increasing consumer awareness
2. Increasing consumer demand
Increasing consumer awareness generally feels useful: that's finding out what baby products exist, or showing people a new invention or service.
Increasing consumer demand generally feels manipulative: that's showing sugary cereals and crap toys to children, or associating vaping with success, etc.
The two goals usually are working together — but I find it useful to separate which parts of the advertisement are doing what.