Immune to marketing

Striker@lemmy.worldmod to Lemmy Shitpost@lemmy.world – 745 points –
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the article is propaganda btw! many autistic people are still affected by marketing and the like! NO ONE IS IMMUNE

There’s no one a con man loves more than someone who thinks they’re too smart to be conned.

Yes, no one is immune to propaganda in the sense of misinformation.

Ads on the other hand... The often quoted subconscious working of ads just doesn't work on me: i choose my müesli based on parameters (like texture, taste,...), not on whims! So ads go on one side in, out on the other.

It's called subconscious for a reason. You aren't concous about it.

How do you know that you choose your muesli based on parameters, when things like taste are influenced by the brand and design of the package. No this is not a joke and there actually have been studies on this.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0950329312002364

I'm aware of that effect and it doesn't matter for me.

Preconcusness isn't the subconscousness but only things that you aren't councious of right now but that could be brought into consciousness

It literally isn't the same thing

Edit: they edited their comment and now my comment doesn't make sense anymore. They said that the unconscious is an outdated term and we should rather use preconousness and that they are way more conscious about everything than everyone else.

and that they are way more conscious about everything than everyone else.

I didn't say that.

Habe ich nicht gesagt. Nur, dass dieser spezifische Typ bei mir nicht funktioniert.

Ads on the other hand... The often quoted subconscious working of ads just doesn't work on me

Schau dir am besten das Video an, fallst du das noch nicht getan hast

Have you considered those ads simply aren't targeted at people like you but at the mainstream instead? And that you may well still be susceptible to adds targeted at your kind of mindset?

Have you considered those ads simply aren't targeted at people like you but at the mainstream instead?

Yes, that's what i said?

And that you may well still be susceptible to adds targeted at your kind of mindset?

You mean ads for products i would choose based on my need and their qualities? Gladly. But im rather careful with my privacy and see ads only on the street, so there's that.

Don't get buthurt so easily.

Another side effect of ads: you think you want Muesli for breakfast, not soup or fried egg.

You buy your muesli...? You know you can make it cheaply and easily, right?

Did you make a blind test on your Müsli? Get several different brands and eat them blind.

There's health a big consideration, since it's something almost daily. So 5-corn with wholewheat flakes and fruit it is. Next convenience store has only one brand of it.

Ok if dug that deep into details there is no need for a test.

What "detail". Average 20's to 40's person cares too less for their health and are then suffering and expensive when they get old.

Well I don't care about my food that much that I choose my cerial on most healthy option. I eat what I want when I feel like it. As long as I don't eat only unhealthy food this should work out. And if I get to 100 or only 80 because of tthat I don't care.

Advertisements work opposite for me. If I see an ad, I hate the company. I adamantly will only choose materials based on personal research and the suggestions of my peers. Any suggestion by a corporate entity or otherwise paid method will only serve to brew hate. Beyond that, I will go to just about any means to get rid of ads. I often refuse to deal with a company if their ads show up when I don't want them to, or if their ad annoys me. There is no good ad.

only choose materials based on personal research and the suggestions of my peers.

And how do you know what to choose from? Ads.

You may not like it but advertisements work on you. They just need to be more subtle. You are fooling yourself if you think you are immune.

true that google search is littered with ads. But savvy consumers know how to do research while avoiding sponsored content and finding unbiased specs and reviews.

Same. It's very weird I guess. Ads just make me dislike a brand for trying so hard, or not trying hard enough. Also mainstream stuff tends to irk me the wrong way

Autistic people fall hand over foot for propaganda.

Certainly when I was younger that was absolutely the case. I like to think now that I'm older I'm a little more of a free thinker. But ads? Specifically targeted ads? I don't stand a chance. If I see a game on sale that I'm mildly interested in or a new D&D source book that sounds cool I will buy it without regard for if I need that money for something else.

Between not watching TV & the pihole router cleaning our internet feed, I may not be immune to ads, but I sure as fuck don't see them.

This just makes ads stick out like a sore thumb when I actually run into them

Yeah but I cannot remember those personally. Wasn't a target for ads to also be memorable? Probably only ad I can rethink in my mind is of this one mobile game I've seen reposted on Reddit in a meme group where they deepfaked Oppenheimer and Abraham Lincoln

I almost never remember the brand from advertisements, even if there's a funny one people talk about. "Oh, it was Tide? But it had nothing to do with laundry." It's odd how so many ads leave you going, "What were they even trying to sell?"

I don't remember them, it's just like "ew ads, I hate those!" I noticed them more since I rarely see them.

I use Connect for one of my Lemmy accounts, and I have it set to use WebView, for the memes. But whenever I open an actual website it's absolute fucking cancer

Immune is overstating it, strongly resistant is more accurate. I hate labeled clothing, or team clothing. It irritates me when my car has a dealer label, and do not blow smoke about how cool I will look, with whatever or wearing whatever. If my vehicle moves from A to B, is reliable, safe, and doesn't cost an unreasonable amount to operate, I am good. Does anyone else parse ads, to see their actual claims in neutral language? And filter out the puffery filler words?

Make it noise-cancelling, however, and I am very interested. NRR 33+ brings a smile to my face.

Nobody is immune to propaganda.

That said, when it comes to advertisements, I hate them passionately, and will often note the brand in the advert so I can avoid it.

I don't know how people can function while there's a flashy animated thing to one side of their screen, I literally cannot read the main content until that is gone or covered up. It muddled my brain until it's gone.

Heck, even an overly busy and colourful web page due to a bunch of static ads is very oppressive and difficult to deal with. An untidy website gives me an untidy mind, basically.

I just don't get how people wade through this crap and get anything done. I've blocked ads for decades now, and I'm never going back.

How do you know company A is really advertising to you Company B's product, which is a competitor of theirs?

Whenever I use a computer without an ad blocker, I'm literally holding out my hand on the screen to block the ad so it doesn't distract me. ADHD+ND is a bitch.

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Ads don't actively persuade you to buy something immediately. They plant the information in your mind so that one day when you need to buy something, the first thing that comes to mind is the advertised product. Targetted ads try to shorten this period by guessing what you might need in the shortest term. Autists simply miss the information if they're not paying attention.

Oh, we're paying attention, we're just so insulted that such a pathetic attempt to incept us is what passes for acceptable marketing from multi-billion dollar corporations that we'll gladly buy the brand that didn't advertise simply because it knew to leave well enough alone.

Ads both plant information and attempt to persuade. How much effort went into each and how effective they are varies wildly. Furthermore, there are multiple reasons autistic persons aren't as suseptible to advertisements; it is true that different things tend to get our attention, but it's also true that we find some arguments to be less persuasive. For example "I did this thing and my life is amazing" is far less likely to influence an autistic person than a neurotypical one.

The secret is realizing you are never going to be happy, and that's something no product is ever going to be able to change.

IDK, HRT helped lots of my friends be much happier than they have ever been for an extended period of time.

I can certainly see that as the case for impulse purchases.

What baffled me was a stretch where I was getting banner ads for a particular company's multi million dollar yachts. I was wondering who in the world would be swayed by such a frivolous thing as a banner ad for such a gigantic purchase.

"Tell me what your product is and why I should buy it"

"Buzzword buzzword appeal to emotion happy white suburban family sugary jingle product in frame for like 1 second"

"... what are you selling and why should I buy it??"

The biggest problem with modern advertising is that they try to sell you on the idea before establishing what the idea even is. More often than not they're not even selling a product so much as a lifestyle which will never apply to you, so why should you even care in the first place?

The biggest problem with modern advertising is that they try to sell you on the idea before establishing what the idea even is.

This is definitely a running theme with ads, in fact there has been multiple instances where I have seen an ad, and despite seeing the entire duration I literally have no idea what was actually been advertised to me haha.

Probably to make you go look it up and get the brand further planted in your mind. Just my hunch.

Yeah definitely, I was thinking it was so you keep watching the ad till the end to work out what it's for which is in the same vein

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Shit, is that why any time I sense the marketing it makes me not want the product??

That's your mind's natural immune system fighting BS

As a general rule, if I want it, I seek a good deal. If I am approached, it's bad deal for me so I avoid.

I was today years old when I found out I was autistic.

Just kidding, I've known for years.

Yeah I'm pretending a bit, I've been aware for a mere few months now

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Foolish lemmings, you only thought you could escape from the endless barrage of advertisement on this obscure technology forum, but over the past 3 months, I have TRICKED you into watching my super awesome movie that I'm currently not allowed to promote in theater!

Nowhere is safe from the masterful marketing techniques of Academy Award nominated character actress Margot Robbie. Nowhere.

Ms Robbie, you're making a scene

You're going to have to be way more specific than that, because as an actor, Academy Award nominated character actress Margot Robbie makes a lot of scenes!

Marketing just isn't adjusted to people with autism because they are only a small part of the population.

They can definitely manipulate you if they so desire.

No, no they can't esp when I block all ads

I feel like about 4% of all the comments on Lemmy are just people telling each other they use an adblocker

Do you listen to the radio or live in a state with billboards? Do you go anywhere in public? Lots of places you can't block advertisements..

Nope live in a small town up in Canada and I use Stingray Music that has no ads and we have no adverts on our streets

Have ADHD with an inability to unfocus from being hyperfocused. I hate ads. I go out of my way to block it and if anything slips through, I mute or just simply turn away.

Funny thing is for work, I'm in marketing/advertising.

I guess missing social cues works out when they're being manufactured to manipulate you

Advertisement: Attractive woman smiling and putting her arm around a man.

Neurotypical Subconscious: Maybe a nice Seiko watch would make me more attractive?

Autistic Subconscious: I need to remember to schedule my dentist appointment.

For me at least is more accurate to say my mind is thinking"so what is it that makes this watch better than the one I currently have"?

Actual Autistic Subconscious: That girl's shirt is red, red is the color of blood, blood is somewhat sweet, food is sweet, I should make dinner.

Marketing is a $1/4 TRILLION industry in the US alone because it works. Thinking that you are immune to it for one reason or another is laughable. In fact those that think they are immune to it, probably are the most susceptible to it's pull.

If not immune then what, how do you explain someone that never bought something he saw in one of the countless ads thrown at him?

never bought

I'd call them a lying sack of shit, quite honestly, because the best marketing is subliminal and can create a desire that you might not notice for a while or in a different environment. You don't have to click on an ad or immediately jump on Amazon to be affected by marketing. But the fact that you might remember the name of a certtain product when you go to the store and buy that type of cereal or simply yearning for a certain type of phone or shoes or car means that marketing is indeed working on that person.

But the fact that you might remember the name of a certtain product when you go to the store and buy that type of cereal

I would look for the knockoff brand that's cheaper.

or simply yearning for a certain type of phone or shoes or car

I used to do this when I was younger, but now the things I want are based in pragmatism. I didnt want my Toyota matrix because I saw an ad about how safe and efficient they are; I wanted it because it is statistically one of the most reliable vehicles produced in the last 20 years. I did my reading and looked at data analyses and chose what I wanted based on the facts.

What about the sneakier ways of advertising? Companies sometimes pay people to write reviews, even if they aren't an influencer. This is because it looks like a "normal person" wrote it, so other people will be more likely to trust it.

You might hear some and not know it, there is a lot of noise in a lot of places. Free samples are also a form of advertising, as the company is paying for them to be given out. It might even be a little sticker on a box of something that you already buy. Grocery flyers are a form of advertising. Someone you know may be advertised to and love the product and recommend it. In that scenario, advertising to them would also affect you, even if you didn't see or hear an ad. Scary stuff sometimes.

The easiest way to fall for it is to believe you are immune. Believing that you are immune to propaganda usually just eventually leads to letting more things slide. The only way to be sure is to be vigilant. Even then, it's an odds game.

Those are all obvious and well known methods. Not really sneaky as you seem to think.

Like you say, vigilance.

You only buy the knockoff because your income is constrained. If your income was higher, you would be buying the brand that was advertised to you. Knockoffs are inferior goods, which is a Economics term for something that you buy less of when you have more money.

The ad worked on you because you want that type of item instead of something completely different. For example, an iPhone ad will not just advertise Apple but also smartphones in general. When you see the ad, you are enticed to buy an iPhone instead of an Android. But also you are enticed to buy smartphones in general, instead of a snowmobile. This is called "mindshare" and it is something large companies spend billions on.

Everyone knows Coca Cola exists but they still advertise to remind you. They want you to be thirsty, specifically for Coke, but just generally too.

So if a person sees an iPhone ad and goes and buys an android instead, the iPhone ad still worked on them because "mindshare"?

Are you sure it has nothing to do with the fact that smartphones are in integral part of daily life for people? Any adult knows they basically need one regardless of any ads they might have seen.

FWIW, I'm autistic (officially) and no autistic people I know are right-leaning.

Same. Almost every autist I know who has any interest in politics is very strongly leftist. It's the sense of justice and disdain for obvious bullshit, I suspect. At least it is for me.

It's not that propaganda doesn't work on them, I see those types falling for neo-nazi shit all the time because they know how to appeal to them. It's just that they process the world in a fundamentally different way, so a lot of the psychological tricks that propaganda relies on simply doesn't work on them. It's kind of like how the early days of white supremacy had a hard time getting women because all their propaganda played to mysogyny. Once they figured out that they can rewire their hatred of women to be a good thing (the trad wife) that's when they started jumping on board and really driving their influence into the american culture.

I'm autistic and I've always felt I had a certain gullibility. If I'm reading an article, and an argument sounds rational. I'm more likely to fall for it. Even if it contains a ton of bad premises. I'd like to think as I've gotten older and more mature, these kinds of things work less on me. But honestly I'm not sure.

I can't say if I'm autistic or not but I hate reading news from sources I know to be untrustworthy because I still find myself thinking "this sounds correct" until I finish reading and remember it's 99% bs

I have autistic relatives, and while marketing tricks generally don't work on them, FOMO and rule of cool absolutely do. My brother is on the spectrum and constantly has to have the latest Apple devices (he can afford to, he's got a great job and he's super smart). My dad was too and he was constantly buying any new gadget he saw.

So I don't remember either of them ever being swayed by a specific commercial or marketing campaign, but a photo and a description could be enough, which is sometimes worse.

On top of that, their microfixations, like my brother's with Apple, means they spend an inordinate amount of money on the thing they feel is too cool to pass up.

When my father died, he and my mom had a household full of junk- not a huge mess like a hoarder's house, just a ton of stuff in the attic and garage and closets and so on- and most of it was technology no one would want. Like a keyboard that would put title graphics on a home video designed for CRT TVs. Or the multiple VHS-C and Hi-8 camcorders he bought. Like my brother, he could afford to do it, but what a waste of money.

So while autistic people don't often get swayed by advertising, they can, in my experience, still spend way too much money on the cool new thing.

Here's the link to the referenced article.

The short of it is that people on the spectrum focus on the details, and ignore 'extraneous' information. The typical emotional appeals--such as the choice of certain fonts, colors, graphics, emotional language, etc., is going to be largely ignored by people on the spectrum, while they focus on the details that are directly relevant to the use of the product.

I've noted this tendency in myself (and yes, I"m on the spectrum).

Obvs. that doesn't mean that all advertising falls flat, just that the kinds of emotional appeals that are more typical in advertisement are going to be less effective.

Oh, and I do block ads across all platforms.

Is it really just autistic folks? I see marketing material all the time that frustrates because they tell me nothing about the product I'm trying to research.

Like a phone product page saying things like "our camera helps you capture the moments that matter". Well, duh, I know what a camera does and everyone has a camera, but is there anything particularly nice about your camera? Marketing material wastes so much material on uselessly vague stuff. Extra madness when their web design hijacks scrolling to pause my scrolling to change it to advancing some animation..

It's not just autistic people, no, but autistic people appear to be better at filtering than neurotypical people.

Imagine two cameras in boxes. One is in a white box with black text that lists camera specs. The other is a brightly colored box that has examples of the photos taken with that came, along with a more sparsely populated list of specs. Which are you more likely to buy? Most people--not all, but most--are going to gravitate towards the more appealing packaging unless there are pretty gross differences in specifications that make it less desirable. People might be willing to pay somewhat more for the appealing packaging, as long as the specs appear roughly similar. Autistic people are supposedly better at filtering that kind of information out.

ppl who caption memes with article headlines should off themselves. like seriously let me read the goddamn article you illiterate fuckhole

and if u, catatonic comment reader, don't think that this shit is a problem then just click the down arrow and go. don't try spread your stupid to me

That has nothing to do with the comment you replied to.

I agree with you but your tone is way too violent, we should be helping people learn from their mistakes, not infantilizing them.

got a newsflash for u, there's more to life than just trying to being 'right' about shit

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If you think marketing doesn't work on you, then its working.

I don't consider myself immune to ads. I do consider myself to be resistant to manipulation, however.

It's more that there's inertia to my beliefs/thoughts.

Given evidence and time from multiple sources on info I'll asymptotically come to the correct conclusion.

I'd like to think I have my weights set correctly for the types of sources...

Faaaake

and people that think they are, are just not self aware enough to notice.

Then you have people like Chris Chan, who literally believes advertisements are accurate depictions of real life. But in fairness, the autism isn't the only factor at play there...

She's a special case. Her parents were also an interesting case, likely the source of many bad things.

I knew a Japanese VTuber who was actually diagnosed with autism, except it seems she pretty much rebelled against her diagnosis after a year or so, now is the opposite because she's "growing up for once", which is sad as she originally was way more rebellious, even anti-corporate at times. Went from kinda anti-Musk to pro-Musk, all while people were harassing her on Twitter thanks to now non-existent moderation. She either acquired some really bad influence as friends, or want to crawl back to another.

Until they make advertisements aimed specifically on autistic people...

Specs, technical features, repairability, and longevity statistics babyyyyyyyyyyyy

Give me some of that data.

I think I am allergic to commodification. I could get out of my house but there's fee public spaces, so I could go to a restaurant or a coffee shop I guess. Some people seem to do this all the time, become regulars. Isnt it just throwing money away to enjoy having someone else do it for you? To sit in a comfy place? I hate it. I am going to be unhappy rather than spend my days exchanging my money for the chance to smile.

"This year, hundreds of men will die of stubbornness from ignoring..."

"No, we won't."

However much I despise adverts and go to great lengths to avoid them it's also true to say that I could recite all the ads of my favourite podcasts. They have been pounded into my consciousness so often that I can't do anything about it if I want to listen. On the other hand, I refuse to ever purchase any of those items on principle. Advertisers can eat my refuse.

I would say that the vast majority of products shouldn't need advertising if they're good products. Good products sell themselves, good products are sought after by buyers, they don't need marketing and gimmicks.

How can you buy a product you don't know exists though?

Do you really need it then?

I don't need most of my worldly possessions, but they do make my life more comfortable.

If it's really good, people will talk about it, word of mouth spreads pretty fast and far.

How did those people find out about it?

The producer. They begin by telling the people they know.

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Agree. We seem to have got into an advertising arms race where one manufacturer seeks to gain an advantage by advertising and the competitors are compelled by shareholders, etc, to meet the challenge. In this scenario there's no upper limit on the product advertising that is sought by the vested interests. That's capitalism baby.

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I want to be a savvy consumer

So what actually are the numbers on the low-functioning to high-functioning scale? Because it does not surprise that someone who starts screeching uncontrollably because they find their toothbrush on the wrong side of the sink in the morning would not concern themselves with the new Nike Airs.

Low functioning autism is an antiquated term. But, for years those on the lower end of the autism spectrum were more often diagnosed than those on the higher end of functionality because their manifestation of ASD was more apparent. Within the last 20 years those on the higher functioning end of the spectrum have started outnumbering those on the lower end. Also, due to better rehabilitation resources for people with ASD some initially on the lower end of functioning were able to be reassessed as on the higher functioning end.

A lot of people who were erroneously accessed as having an intellectual disability on the ASD spectrum was because they were non verbal. Once speech and language therapy was able to help some of these kids speak. Once they were able to communicate it was apparent that they weren't actually slow. When I was 2 my parents were told I would be able to write or spell my own name. Here I am more than 20 years later studying psychology in college.

I actually believe this about myself at times.

I know it about myself. In fact most advertisements have the opposite affect on me. Rather than making me want the product it makes me actively avoid it.

And with shrinkflation and quality of products has gone down if a company has enough money to advertise constantly I immediately think less of the entire company not just whatever product their shilling

I'm the same way. It annoys me so much and I end up avoiding brands that try to advertise too much. I also think that products that are actually good will market themselves in the end through word of mouth. Companies selling shitty product will spend more money on pummelling your brain with ads instead of you know, actually developing a good product.

Yeah, it's kind of a zero-sum game. The more money a company spends on advertising, the less it has for development of a good product.

I’ve seen too many scam ads and generally bad products to buy anything that’s being advertised. If they’re advertising, there’s probably a reason why they didn’t have enough users already.

Same. I also remove as much advertising from my home life as possible (as I assume many of us do these days), turn the radio off in the car when ads play or change the channel, tune out when I'm forced to see them somewhere away from home and look at my phone, and full on mentally do my best to zone out when I hear them in stores.

Advertising has never worked on me, if I buy a product I was going to buy it anyway. I look at a product for exactly what it is, and not what a manufacturer promises it is, as such I've basically turned off any and all means for any entity to advertise towards me, after all I didn't consent to seeing your shitty flashy banner ads, why should you have a say in whether I see it or not

Sometimes it works on me but that's unusual so it's sets off a red flag in my head like "wait why do I want that thing so bad?" Which in turn makes advertising not work on me.