Something doesn’t ad up about America’s advertising market
<p><pre><code>  IMAGINE a world in which you are manipulated
  by intelligent advertisements from dusk until 
  dawn.

  It may sound outlandish, but this dystopia is
  increasingly what stockmarket investors are 
  banking on.
</code></pre>
Except ads don&#x27;t actually manipulate me. I know they don&#x27;t because I don&#x27;t even have the money to spend on the things advertisers show me. When I do have disposable money (a rare event) there are specific projects that I plan during the lean times. Those projects get well researched, and aren&#x27;t impulsive, emotional events.<p>Day-to-day spending also is not swayed by advertisements. There are real reasons behind the choices I make, and those ideas, opinions and motivations don&#x27;t source their information from advertisers. I&#x27;m not charmed by entreaties that pander to my niche demographic.<p>Advertising has one rare utility, in shedding light on things that are new. The cliche being that everything is &quot;new and improved&quot; if you believe what ads are trying to sell you.<p>The people that try new things are the targets, and learning who will try something new, and who will spread positive word-of-mouth endorsements, is the holy grail of advertising, but realistically most people do research and find real evidence, before parting with their money.<p>Ads can notify a person of presence, but in practice, people really do operate carefully before accepting invitations to buy, or R.S.V.P. with their wallets.