World 5 · Spending & consumption · Lesson 5 of 12

How advertising shapes what you want

Advertising rarely tells you what to buy. It works on what you notice, want and feel you lack.

7 min read · Level: Practical · Free — no account needed to read

The idea

Advertising rarely works by telling you to buy something. It works on what you notice, what feels normal, what you want and what you feel you lack. It links products to feelings — belonging, confidence, freedom, being a good parent — so that the product seems to offer the feeling.

Modern advertising is also personal. Online platforms track what you look at and show you products at moments when you are most likely to buy. Influencers blur the line between recommendation and advertisement. Limited-time offers, countdown clocks and “only a few left” messages create urgency. Free trials that turn into subscriptions rely on people forgetting to cancel.

None of this makes buying wrong. It simply means many of the wants you feel were carefully designed, and it is worth asking whether a want came from you or was placed in front of you.

Why it matters

Recognising how advertising works gives you back some control over what you want, which is where spending starts.

A real example

The situation

After watching several videos from a fitness influencer, Kalinda feels she needs a set of expensive home equipment.

What happened

She notices that most videos are sponsored by the equipment brand. She tries free workouts at home for a month first, then buys only one item she found she genuinely needed.

The takeaway

The want had been created by advertising; testing it separated it from her real needs.

How people actually behave

Most people believe advertising works on others more than on themselves. Research on this “third-person effect” suggests people consistently underestimate how much they are influenced.

Common mistakes

• Believing you are not influenced by advertising.
• Treating influencer recommendations as neutral advice.
• Letting countdowns and limited offers decide the timing of purchases.

Different perspectives

Reasonable people disagree here. None of these is presented as the answer.

Advertising informs

Some see advertising as useful information that tells people what exists, lowers prices through competition and funds free services.

Advertising manufactures wants

Critics argue that much modern advertising works by creating dissatisfaction and exploiting psychology, pushing people to spend on things that do not improve their lives.

Questions to think about

• What is something you wanted recently that you first saw in an advert or a sponsored post?
• Which feeling was that advert really selling?

Try it: Notice the selling

1. For three days, note every advert or sponsored post that makes you want something.
2. Write the feeling each one links to the product.
3. Unfollow or mute one source that consistently makes you want things you do not need.