10 Things We Get Because Advertisers Convince Us

There are two ways to create a product. The first is to find a problem and create a product as a solution. The other is to turn non-problematic things into problems and give products as a solution. Businesses seem to be enjoying the second business strategy, as it allows them to create profitable niche markets. There are many goods and services we buy because advertisers convince us to do so. These issues were not seen as problems until businesses and advertisers convinced us for what they are. They offered us a solution for our money.

10. Antiperspirant

A century ago, sweating and smelling were absolutely normal. Then Edna Murphey came along with Odorono, the first commercially successful antiperspirant. Edna didn’t invent the antiperspirant drug. The first (Everdry) was sold in 1903. The first deodorant (Mother) was patented in 1888. Odorono was created by Edna’s father, a medical doctor, to prevent sweating during surgery. But when Edna realized that it stopped armpits from sweating, she discovered there was another use. Packed it as Odorono and tried to sell it. First, the product was a commercial flaw because no one needed to sweat. Edna’s saleswomen often returned home before their stocks were sold. Drugstores also refused to stockpile Odorono over concerns that it was useless. Stores that restock often bounced back due to poor sales. Edna took a break during the 1912 Atlantic City, New Jersey, trade fair. At first he experienced poor sales and had to sell other cosmetics to pay for his stand. However, the summer heat soon drove customers to the Odorono stand. He made so much money at the trade fair that he could get $ 30,000 for advertising. Edna hired J. Walter Thompson Company, a New York-based advertising agency, to help increase sales. The advertising agency convinced people that sweating was an embarrassing medical problem. However, he added that a doctor (Edna’s father) created it to treat Odorono. The campaign was successful, and sweating is still seen as an embarrassing problem today.

9. Diamond Rings

Did he say “Diamonds exist forever”? Or do you need a diamond ring to propose to your lover? Good! We thank De Beers’ advertising strategy for this. Diamonds don’t last forever and you don’t need a diamond ring to suggest. Diamonds are on the list of worst gemstones you can buy. They are almost worthless and rapidly depreciating. A diamond loses half its value the moment you take it out of the jeweler. These stones are more common than you think. De Beers just makes them increase their prices. The Beers diamond intrigue began in 1870 when huge diamond deposits were discovered in South Africa. These diamonds made cheap, but that was something a man called Cecil Rhodes didn’t want. So he bought or partnered with many diamond mining businesses, including the famous De Beers, which he used for new business. However, diamond sales were still on the decline. In 1938 De Beers, N.W. Ayer advertising agency to see how they can improve sales. N.W. Ayer determined that diamonds should be marketed to singles willing to marry. Buying a diamond for a woman was considered the most spiritual thing you can do. Diamonds were marketed to women at the same time. Diamond was considered a woman’s best friend and the perfect gift from a man who truly loved her. And this marketing technique worked.

8.Shaver for Women

In the early 20th century, women had hairs on their armpits and legs. This was normal because every woman had it. The women were also completely covered in clothes, so no one saw the hairs. This changed in 1915 when Gillette removed the Milady Decollete razor for women. Gillette was not concerned with women’s health or anything. They just wanted to sell more razors. Gillette has often pointed out to razor blades that armpit hair is an “embarrassing personal problem” in women’s clothing catalogs “ugly, noticeable, and unwanted.” He added that a hairless armpit is the “good dressing and good grooming feature” reserved for stylish women. Interestingly, Gillette didn’t tell women that razors needed to be “shaved” because he thought shaving was a masculine thing. The company used the word “smooth” instead. Women needed razors to make their legs smoother. Gillette also avoided words such as “razor” and “blade.” The advertisements were told that sleeveless clothes were pale at the time. Thus, women soon began to shave their armpit hair.

7 Bottled Water

Soda sales have declined in recent years as people have become more health conscious. That’s why top soda makers have shifted the battlefield to a healthier drink: water. Bottled water, especially. Bottled water is basically an alternative to tap water. But manufacturers knew it would be nearly impossible to compete with tap water. So they decided to compete with soda instead. Today, bottled water is marketed as a healthier alternative to soda. They positioned bottled water as a “refreshing drink”.

The bottled water craze began in the 1970s, when the head of the French-based Source Perrier, Gustave Leven, wanted it to spread to the United States. Leven sold his famous bottled water to restaurants and hotels in the United States at the time. However, he realized that he would make more money if he marketed it to normal Americans. In fact, Americans realized they wouldn’t pay for bottled water because they already bought it from their taps. In 1977, he spent 2.5-5 million dollars in television commercials to promote bottled water as a soft drink for cold people. He also spent a lot of money sponsoring many racing events, including the 1977 New York Marathon. The rest is history.

6. Breakfast Cereals

Have you ever heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? Or how dangerous it could be for your health to skip this meal? Or are these vitamin-fortified cereals the perfect breakfast meal? Thank you to the advertisers for this. Two centuries everyone wouldn’t have breakfast. And what they ate was definitely not breakfast cereal. People in the 19th century United States ate almost anything for breakfast. These were usually eggs or leftovers from the previous night’s dinner. The eggs were the perfect breakfast because they were so easy to prepare. Chickens also lay eggs in the morning. However, when the Industrial Revolution came, religion and advertising changed. People left their farms to work in their factories. Most of them started complaining of indigestion, blaming the heavy meals they ate in the morning. In reality, it was because they didn’t need as much food because they were doing less work in factories than on farms. However, some members of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church came to the rescue by inventing “healthy” cereal to cure other problems such as indigestion and masturbation. However, grains became common when vitamins were discovered in the 1940s. Grain producers added vitamins to their cereals and started promoting their products as the perfect breakfast. To make sure more people eat breakfast, companies have advertised breakfast as the most important meal of the day. The bacon and egg industry didn’t just sit around watching the grain industry buy their markets. Top bacon maker Beech-Nut Packaging Company hired Edward Bernays to promote bacon as the perfect breakfast meal. Bernays persuaded 5,000 doctors to decide that a heavy protein-rich breakfast was healthier than a light cereal breakfast. Bernays newspapers published the results they designed like a regular scientific study. This made bacon and eggs another breakfast option. Despite seeing cereals as the perfect breakfast meal, the grain industry has reinforced the view that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

5.Popcorn

Popcorn became popular in the United States in the 1800s. It was sold everywhere except theaters. Yes, popcorn has not always been synonymous with theaters, as these establishments initially target the rich. Theater owners didn’t want popcorn ruining their expensive carpets. It started to change in 1927 when poor people started visiting cinemas. Usually they brought bags of popcorn, which was probably the only snack they could afford. Popcorn vendors soon caught up and brought their business closer to the cinemas. Theater owners joined the popcorn field and began charging popcorn vendors to sell outside their theaters. Later, cinemas started making their own popcorn. They even ran commercials early and mid-movies to encourage viewers to compete in the lobby and grab a bag of popcorn. Ads successfully increased the consumption of popcorn.

4. Toothpaste

To be clear, it’s good to brush your teeth. However, some think that toothpaste is not necessary because a toothbrush without toothpaste cleans our teeth perfectly. Brushing wasn’t a big deal in the early 20th century. He was not so American that what we consider bad teeth today was the norm. During World War I, most US Army soldiers had such bad teeth that the army’s bad teeth were declared a national security risk. Dental culture in the US has changed when Pepsodent hires Claude Hopkins, the successful advertising executive, to prepare a campaign to help them sell more toothpaste. Hopkins immediately got to work. During his research, he stated that human teeth are naturally covered with a film. Eating foods like apples removes this film the same way a toothbrush containing toothpaste would. Hopkins managed to convince people that this movie was the reason why I didn’t have beautiful smiles. He suggested they use Pepsodent toothpaste for the best teeth and perfect smile. The campaign was successful due to Hopkin’s persuasive prowess and Pepsodent’s mint flavor. Most toothpastes at that time were tasteless and mild in taste. However, Pepsodent’s little aroma gave users a sense of freshness. He caught a few competitors and added flavors to their toothpaste. They also made toothpastes foam because people loved it and associated it with a clean mouth.

3. Teeth Whitening

White teeth are considered perfect, although not essential. Natural human teeth for beginners are light yellow and not white. So yellow is normal and white is abnormal. However, advertisers are currently convincing us that white is normal and yellow is abnormal. Our teeth are yellow because our teeth (aka dentin) are yellow. Dentin is the teeth under the enamel which is the outermost layer of the teeth. The enamel itself is white with a blue tint. However, it is transparent, so we can see the yellow dental bone. Most of the teeth whitening ads these days claim that yellow teeth are abnormal. Companies promote their business on social media, especially on Instagram, where they pay influencers to recommend their products. The main ingredient in tooth whiteners is hydrogen peroxide, a liquid substance that passes through enamel and into your teeth. Here, dentin breaks down the compounds that make up the yellow. However, there are concerns that hydrogen peroxide could damage enamel and cause other permanent or temporary dental problems.

2. Almost Every Holiday

Most days of the year are marked as holidays to celebrate an event. Most of these days are considered qualified holidays; that is, holidays that exist solely to increase sales for businesses. They are named after Hallmark Cards, Inc., which sells greeting cards for almost every occasion. There are holidays like Sweetest Day, created by just one candy company with the intention of selling more candy. There are also Tax Day, Clerical Appreciation Day, National Patron Day, and Ferris Wheel Day. Curiously, the label has been extended to traditional holidays like Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day, and Mother’s Day. In fact, Mother’s Day is one of the best selling holidays. It was proposed by Anna Jarvis in the early 1900s to celebrate all mothers. In May 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared a national holiday in the United States. The holiday soon turned horrified for Jarvis, watching businesses create all kinds of items for Mother’s Day. Jarvis considered this greed because the day was supposed to be about mothers. He tried to cancel the holiday but failed despite using press releases, lawsuit threats, protests and meetings with US presidents. US companies still spend billions of dollars each year on Mother’s Day.

1. Toilet Paper

People have been pooping ever since they came along. And we were probably cleaning up because we realized we had to do it after pooping. Toilet paper was not around at the time, so people used water, sticks, sponges, grass, stones, bark, straw, pottery, corn cobs, and anything else they could put their hands on. This started to change in the fifth century. China invented the first toilet paper. However, toilet paper was still foreign to the United States until Joseph Gayetty invented its version in the US in 1857. However, even when Gayetty marketed it as a great product for people with hemorrhoids, no one bought it in need of it. People saw no reason to spend money on toilet paper when they had lots of old magazines, flyers, newspapers, and other similar items. Gayetty also had a communication problem with his customers because people rarely discussed specific issues such as poop. Toilet paper became a successful product in 1867 when brothers Thomas, Clarence, and Edward Scott marketed the first rolled toilet paper. The more flush toilet in Populari increased, the more success they had.