It may very well be, that it is just my personal opinion, or something that happens only in germany, but the amount of advertisements being shoved down our throat has skyrocketed. It is also the reason, why I am not so much on YouTube anymore, but prefer D.Tube - after the adpocalypse, some videos have at least doubled the amount of advertisement shown: From once before the program starts, to another one displayed half-way through. Oftentimes even mit sentence. On a five to ten minute video.
I am not per se against all advertisement; Some of it is necessary, in order to showcase new products. But, I have a few gripes with them as well.
Empty Promises
"This Product will visibly decrease the amount of wrinkles in your skin within four weeks!" A bold claim, aimed to sell some face-lifting creams - and since it is on TV, it must be true, right? Wrong. Oftentimes these effects are barely measurable, let alone visible. But in this case, the feeling is often more important, the subjective feeling, of at least having done something against the wrinkles, of perceiving less wrinkles in the mirror yourself ... if you're lucky. But then the effect won't be visible to others.
It is just one example of empty promises, there are many others that promise grand increases in health. Or money. Or ... pick something. Anything. You can even lose weight. Well, the latter may be true, if you stand on the scales with your purse in hand.
Sell unneeded or useless Products
I have to admit, that those, who do this, are at least clever about it. Especially considering, that we often by on impulse. Obtaining something new makes us happy. No matter whether or not we need the thing we just bought. But think about it - I am sure, if you consider all the things you bought in your life, that there are a few of them you only used once or twice. Or worse: Not at all.
Bruteforce Advertisements
I oftentimes only see an advertisement once. Then I know of the product, and have considered whether it is something I need, or not. But nowadays, I often am blasted by the same advertisement one after another. It has become nauseating. I don't plan to change my broadband provider anytime soon, and I don't drink coffee ...
These Bruteforce Advertisements want to reach possibly every available customer on earth - or at least in the country the advertisement is aired. These are the ones I skip the most.
Bait Offers
This is probably something that is not very wide-spread. In germany many comunications providers (which include broadband) have these bait offers: Changing to them, you are provided with their services for a year (or two) at a reduced price (of 19,99 €), and after that, hidden in the small print, you have to pay full price (often 35,99 €, almost double). In other words: You could have very cheap broadband by switching every two years (contracts last a minimum of two years).
You'd almost think that we have healthy competition in the market, BUT: These changes never go without trouble. You need to be at home to let a technician in, and then you often need two or three more appointments to get things going. Switching providers is a hassle. So far, that I sometimes wonder, whether it is on purpose or not ...
Waste of Paper
I not only get a ton of mails with advertisements (amazon about once a week, thalia sometimes daily(!), among other spam mails (the amount has skyrocketed again; some server admins should check their machines)), but also with print advertisements from the local supermarkets. I have three. I get advertisements from at least five. Once a week. With products they think I should buy. From them, of course.
Selling harmful products
Cigarettes are often sold with the image of freedom, of living the moment. That smoking a cigarette can be harmful to ones health is known, but they are still sold. Because you have the freedom to do with your own body what you want ... even harm it. Oh, and since one component can be highly addictive, you are also giving up your freedom of not smoking these. Well you could stop ... but it's hard once you have started.
Stop all the whining, where is your solution?
To all the problems above? I have none. In our current system, any company wants to sell something. They need to sell something. And every year, they need to sell more (or the same at a higher price). If the goal is to have a 5% higher revenue every year, they need to sell 5% more every year ... extrapolating, you have to sell 55% more than 9 years ago, double after 15 years ... and compared to 1945, the end of the 2nd world-war, after 73 years ... 35 times more than before. Well, the effect is mitigated by inflation, but the revenue needs to be higher than the amount of money in circulation.
The following table has the time needed to double the needed production, in order to meet the revenue requirements at x% above inflation:
| Revenue above Inflation | Time after production needs to be doubled |
|---|---|
| 1% | 70 years |
| 2% | 35 years |
| 3% | 24 years |
| 4% | 18 years |
| 5% | 14 years |
| 6% | 12 years |
| 7% | 10 years |
| 8% | 9 years |
| 9% | 8 years |
| 10% | 7 years |
And, after that time has passed, the amount is doubled once more (we are at four times then), and even more doubling to 8 after that time has passed once more. What I am getting at, is, that the current system will come to a point where it fails. And needs to be restarted. I can't say how that will happen, but I have my fears.
Basically: Unless everyone on earth agrees to change the system, it won't ever change. Unless every person on earth agrees not to make certain products anymore, they will exist. And the chance of that happen, is less than being struck by lightning on a blue moon.
One last thing
I apologize for the click-baity image. I put some work into it, and like the way how it turned out. I could have added some more details, like a few stars or words on the golden border of the coin.