Toxic Relationship with Advertising

The documentary “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” perfectly depicts the world we live in and how advertising has taken over our lives whether we realize it or not. Morgan Spurlock, most notably known for directing the documentary Super-Size Me, created a masterpiece about the strategic influence of branding, advertisements, and product placement. The documentary walks you through the process of getting an entire film’s budget covered by just sponsorships and advertisements alone. With peaks into the private meetings of brands' highest players, the audience can see just how tactical every small decision is made. We see how Spurlock can get his face into well-known gas stations, movie theaters, and even airplanes by creating his brand for the documentary. The film was produced in 2011 but still reigns true today, if not more. The entirety of the film’s estimated $1,500,000 budget was paid for by a total of 23 brands including Pom Wonderful, Mini Cooper, and Sheetz. After watching the documentary, audience members are left to wonder about their own relationship with advertisements.

If you turn on your phone and open Instagram, TikTok, or ultimately any social media app, chances are you’re going to see an advertisement before a few minutes are up. On average, we see anywhere from 4,000 to a whopping 10,000 ads in a single day. They’re inescapable in today's society and most of the time you don’t realize you are being exposed to them. Have you ever been watching a tv show or movie and got a sudden craving for an ice-cold Coca-Cola? If so, chances are you’ve fallen victim to the strategic placement of the brand's can or bottle placed on-screen perfectly for you to see without giving it a second thought. An estimated $285 billion was spent in America alone in 2021 on ads. How much of that did brands get in return? According to a study done by Nielsen, the average return on ad spending is 2.87:1 meaning that for every dollar spent, the company makes $2.87 back. Although advertisements clearly work, are they ethical?

One of the reasons “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” was so successful is because it shows the harsh truth about advertisements in our society. While going through our day-to-day lives, we are constantly facing subliminal advertisements, branding, and product placement without even realizing it. Nowadays the “only place you can go without advertising is to sleep.” Some ads are more blatant and in your face such as the ones covering every inch of Times Square. Others, however, are sneakier and more strategic like the quick moments of branding in a television show. By being aware of the effects of advertising, we can begin to wake up from the zombie-like state we’ve been in and take back our power when it comes to choosing when, if ever, we want to give in to the corporate world's branding abilities.