Around the turn of the 20th century, Gladys Babson Hannaford, nicknamed the Diamond Lady, was giving hundreds of "educational" talks on the gems every year. However, the "expert" was actually employed by an ad agency with a simple mission: get American women to crave diamonds. Businesses have long understood that in order to compete in the market, a good product might not be enough. You also need a compelling story.
As consumers, we must be aware of how marketing boardrooms twist reality if we want to make rational choices with our money. So, we looked at a few online discussions where people have been sharing the corporate myths they discovered — from hygiene to eating habits, so much of our daily life has been targeted.
#1
"Oxycontin is not highly addictive." Crafted by the deplorable Sackler family and their Purdue Pharma for the sake of profit.
Image credits: SebastianTombs
#2
Whole wedding industry. Rings, dresses, huge parties.
Image credits: kandorius
#3
Pretty sure the diamond industry became a thing because DeBeers said so.
Image credits: twilightsentinel
#4
Fertilizer/lawn care product companies have long diagnosed clover as a weed, when in reality clover is a healthy part of most grassy areas. It doesn't look perfect when combined with most varieties of grass, but clover isn't exactly an invasive plant that destroys a healthy lawn.
Image credits: windblown_knight
#5
There's an ad on daytime TV here in the UK which is pushing electric roll-out canopies for your garden. Nothing wrong with that, I'm sure they're great. But the ad starts:
"Wouldn't you like to enjoy your garden without the continual glare of the Sun?"
Britain is a lovely place, but "the continual glare of the Sun" is not one of it's major problems...
Image credits: moon_monkey
#6
That aging is a bad thing that can be staved off or even reversed. Ridiculous, but billions of dollars per year go to that pointless hope.
Image credits: DogsNotHumans
#7
You barely need to put any toothpaste on your brush, just a pea-sized blop. The ads all show people squeezing these massive bloop logs onto their toothbrushes because it makes you run out three times as fast.
Image credits: anon
#8
Breakfast being the most important meal of the day. This was made up by the Kellogg's corporation in 1917.
polkadotdress:
Kellogg was a Seventh Day Adventist who started his company based on the dietary beliefs of his religion, particularly cereal foods as a source of healthful nutrition.
Image credits: anon
#9
Essential oils. Companies claim they can cure/treat just about anything. Seriously, there's oils to treat lethargy and bad luck.
anon:
It's terrifying that companies promote consuming essential oils. They're not meant to be eaten.
Sure, some of them can have some mild positive effects. Lavender can be calming, peppermint can be stimulating and help with headaches, eucalyptus can help with congestion, annnnd I can't actually think of any others that do anything other than smell good.
I love diffusing very small amounts (1-2 drops in a diffuser with 2 cups of water that takes about three hours to diffuse fully). Makes the house smell nice. That's really the main benefit....
Hot tip: they all cause bad luck because you just dropped $25 on astrology that you rub on your skin.
Image credits: CaffieneShadow
#10
Febreeze garbage cans scenters. Just empty the garbage can!
Image credits: Samzy33
#11
The food pyramid is no longer in use but bread and grain being the base of the food pyramid was due to bread companies lobbying politicians to make that happen.
Pulsar_the_Spacenerd:
There was also considerable dairy lobbying that went into it. Dairy is most certainly not a critical food group, as 70% of people can't consume it.
Edit: Lactose intolerant people can consume dairy but often don't due to side effects within the intestines.
Image credits: PhreedomPhighter
#12
Fat is fattening, most fat passes through the gut and is digsted like most other protiens. Sugar companies made it up because when something doesn't use fat in it's recipe people often add unnecessary amounts of sugar to make it taste better.
GoabNZ:
Industries using lots of sugar in their products: "gee obesity and heart attacks are occurring in people who consume our products. What do we do?! Oh, they tend to consume fat too? Quick, blame the fat! It's called fat afterall, so if you avoid it you won't get fat and die!"
And if anybody denies that, don't forget Coca Cola paid Harvard research something like $50000 for a anti-fat study in the 70's.
Image credits: jerrythecactus
#13
That your hair needs to be shampooed every day.
Image credits: anon
#14
Diamonds equal love. Greatest marketing campaign of all time.
Image credits: dreadpirateroberts92
#15
Multi level marketing companies telling you that you are going to be rich with their fantastic business opportunity. I know it's not 100% a myth because a few people will but the vast majority won't.
Image credits: Teaquilla
#16
Engagement ring should be 3 months’ salary. WTAF?
Image credits: manvsdog
#17
Dasani water in the UK was pure mineral water.
Sadly it was tap water with higher than average levels of Bromate, a potentially carcinogenic compound.
Image credits: Breninnog
#18
Michelin star ratings. The Michelin Guide was started by the Michelin tire company in an attempt to get people to drive farther than they normally would to eat and, hence, wear out their tires faster.
Image credits: anon
#19
Those Power Balance bands that allegedly "increased sporting ability".
miketwoalpha:
Almost everyone in 4th grade fell for this back in the day.
Image credits: TeaErrors
#20
Major sugar companies funded a research project at Harvard pointing to fat as the leading cause of heart disease. It was recently uncovered that the sugar companies dictated the results of the study. It has since been debunked and we now know that sugar is the cause of the world’s expanding waistlines and premature death. The body processes fat for fuel far more effectively than it does carbohydrates... especially refined sugars.
Image credits: akoontz
#21
The meat industry invented huge breakfasts to sell more meat. The dairy industry did a similar thing to sell more dairy products.
Image credits: kittenkin
#22
Not a myth, but a tobacco company used the second wave feminist movement in the 60's to sell more cigarettes. Advertisements showing a strong willed woman smoking in public with slogans like "stick it to the man", all so they can 'empower' women and open their market to the other 50% of the population.
They also learnt that women didn't like the cigarette packaging because it was an off green colour, rather than change the colour, they lobbied fashion groups to make it the next seasons hottest colour.
PR is really fascinating, it's crazy to see how far companies go to sell their products.
Image credits: noctis89
#23
Not exactly a product, but in Amsterdam a nightclub was opened called Jimmy Woo. Nobody knew who the owner was, rumor was it was an ultra rich Chinese guy.
Strict door policy, invites for famous people.
Of course it was just a trick to get some mystery going, and the first two years it worked - everyone wanted to go there but you'd have to get an invite by someone already "In".
But these gimmicks only work as long as the secret remains a secret. Once people found out it was all a staged mystery interest quickly faded.
Image credits: anon
#24
That the tingly feeling from toothpaste does something other that produce an artificial tingle.
SinkTube:
At least that's harmless. the tingly feeling from many chapsticks is caused by irritants that make your lips drier long-term.
Image credits: LiveRealNow
#25
Graham Crackers were originally supposed to stifle the sexual appetite and keep people from feeling lustful.
Image credits: reddit6500
#26
Volkswagen for 10 years tried to say they created “Clean Diesel” with revolutionarily low emissions, turns out the put a device in all their cars called “Defeat Devicss” (as ironic as it sounds) that once discovered led to massive lawsuits and damage to the companies reputation that remains to this day.
Image credits: anon
#27
That carrots are better for your vision.
Image credits: anon
#28
That dairy helps with clear skin. The Got Milk campaign has this all over the place in my school, posters saying that drinking milk makes your skin better and gives you long-lasting energy. There's actually loads of sugar in milk, so it would probably give you a crash, and it's a pretty well-known fact that dairy is horrendous for tons of people with acne.
Image credits: anon
#29
Mouth wash is just floor cleaner. Floor cleaner wasnt selling, so companies said peoples breath smell bad.
A_bad_poem_for_free:
And they made a rather disgusting but ingenious campaign to basically prey on people's insecurity by saying "If you don't know who has halitosis among your friends, it's probably you" or "You don't use mouthwash? your friends are probably talking about your breath behind your back"
Dirty but also genius.
- You might also like: “It’s A ‘Benefit’ To My Employer, Not Me”: People Are Sharing 28 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them
Image credits: anon
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