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Comment by svantana | Hacker News Reader

I dunno, there's something to this, but at the same time, it doesn't explain the popularity of fast food, alcohol, reality tv, and porn. My feeling is that marketing is a dark art, sort of like stock market investing or song writing. In that if there was a rational way to do it, then everybody would be doing it, thus nulling the effect.

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I don't think it's about rationality. If it was how do you explain actual art ie drawing being something not everyone could do? It has more to do with people trying to frame an algorithm or logic behind these "dark arts". This article is an example of it. If everyone was to follow the same set of rules then sooner or later the market is filled with look-alike negating the effects. That is not something which would happen rather something already happens. So while the logic might be entirely fine it's over saturation kills that logic.

What you describe are not products (e.g. Chicken McNuggets) but a category (e.g. fast food). The category has some reason for existance and success, and these are not explained in the article, true. What the article is trying to tell you is how you can beat Chicken McNuggets and gain a bigger share of the fast food market.

Those are escapes to distract yourself from the urge to better yourself (which makes you feel good since not being able to live up to the urge and respond positively to it will make you feel worse/bad about yourself)

People are complex and have multiple mechanisms?

Food might not need any special tricks because we're pretty wired to interpret images into flavors.

For porn - I was going to say: "...when was the last time porn needed ads? - aren't the ads basically a demo?

Alcohol (AFAIK?) advertises on the "mind-share" effect: when you're going to buy something, which is the thing you've heard of the most?

Reality TV is the interesting one - I wonder, what percent of the advertising screen time is spent on audience reactions?

>but at the same time, it doesn't explain the popularity of fast food, alcohol, reality tv, and porn.

Alcohol is all about creating a "better version of yourself" (short-term, while under the influence). And in reality tv and porn you watch better looking / more interesting others (porn, reality tv) to lose yourself.

I'd add that fast food, as a short-term "hit", and like all kinds of instant (but shallow) highs, represses the anxiety of not being that better self.

True, but none of those things make you better versions of yourself. Those are easy to market because they are there when you are weak, for a reasonable price, and its easier to indulge in these things than invest in yourself. They are all stress relievers, and cater to short term satisfaction.

Everyone knows the reward offered by those things.

It's harder to market a product that makes you believe you can obtain otherwise long term term advantages, like a dress that makes you look thinner or home improvement items.

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