By Aunul Islam, PhD, Imperial College, London, UK
“Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don’t have for something they don’t need.”
— Will Rogers
A striking illustration of this idea appears in the film The Joneses (2009), directed by Derrick Borte. The movie follows a seemingly perfect family who move into an affluent suburban neighbourhood. To their neighbours, they appear successful, stylish, and enviable. However, they are not a real family. They are part of a sophisticated marketing campaign, hired to promote luxury products simply by using them in their daily lives. As neighbours begin purchasing the same cars, clothing, electronics, and household items, the film reveals how easily consumer decisions can be influenced by social status and lifestyle aspirations. The story serves as a powerful reminder that advertising extends far beyond television commercials and billboards, often shaping behaviour in subtle and unexpected ways.
Source: Ebay.com
What Is Consumer Behaviour?
Consumer behaviour refers to the way individuals and groups select, purchase, use, and dispose of products and services. These decisions are influenced by a variety of factors, including personal preferences, cultural values, social influences, income levels, and advertising.
Businesses invest significant resources in studying consumer behaviour because understanding why people buy certain products enables companies to market them more effectively. In modern society, advertising has become one of the most powerful influences on consumer decision-making.
Creating Awareness and Interest
One of advertising’s most important functions is to create awareness. Consumers cannot purchase products they know nothing about. Through advertisements, companies introduce new products, explain their features, and communicate their benefits.
For example, before a new smartphone is released, consumers are often exposed to teaser videos, online campaigns, and social media promotions. By launch day, many people are already familiar with the product and may even be eager to purchase it.
Advertising therefore acts as a bridge between businesses and consumers, helping people discover products that may meet their needs.
Influencing Consumer Preferences
Advertising does much more than inform. It shapes attitudes, desires, and preferences.
Through attractive visuals, memorable slogans, emotional storytelling, and celebrity endorsements, advertisers create strong emotional connections between consumers and products. Many advertisements associate products with success, beauty, confidence, and happiness.
Marketing pioneer David Ogilvy famously stated:
“The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife.”
His quote emphasises the importance of understanding the emotions and motivations behind consumer choices. Successful advertising appeals not only to logic but also to aspiration.
As demonstrated in The Joneses, people are often persuaded not by the product itself but by the lifestyle the product appears to represent. Consumers may purchase certain brands because they wish to emulate individuals they admire or believe those products will enhance their social status.
Encouraging Immediate Purchases
Many advertisements are carefully designed to encourage quick decisions. Limited-time offers, flash sales, and exclusive discounts create a sense of urgency.
Online retailers frequently display messages such as “Only two items left” or “Offer ends tonight.” These tactics tap into the fear of missing out (FOMO), motivating consumers to act immediately rather than carefully evaluating their purchase.
While these strategies can increase sales, they can also encourage impulsive spending and unnecessary purchases.
Building Brand Loyalty
Advertising also plays a crucial role in building trust and loyalty. Repeated exposure to a brand’s message, logo, and values creates familiarity among consumers.
Well-known brands such as Apple, Nike, and Coca-Cola have spent decades establishing strong identities through consistent advertising. As consumers become more familiar with these brands, they often develop a sense of trust and preference that influences future purchasing decisions.
This loyalty demonstrates that advertising’s effect does not end when a sale is made. It can shape consumer behaviour for years.
The Negative Side of Advertising
Although advertising provides valuable information and supports economic growth, it can also have negative consequences.
One major criticism is that advertising promotes materialism. Many advertisements suggest that happiness, success, and self-worth can be achieved through owning particular products. Such messages may encourage consumers to place excessive importance on possessions rather than relationships, experiences, or personal achievements.
Economist John Kenneth Galbraith once observed:
“The individual serves the industrial system not by supplying it with savings and the resulting capital; he serves it by consuming its products.”
His statement highlights concerns that modern society often encourages consumption as a measure of success, even when individuals already possess everything they need.
Social and Environmental Consequences
Advertising can also contribute to social pressure. Through social media, influencer marketing, and personalised advertisements, consumers are constantly exposed to carefully curated images of ideal lifestyles.
Many individuals, particularly young people, feel pressure to keep up with trends and purchase products in order to fit in with their peers. This can lead to anxiety, dissatisfaction, and reduced self-esteem.
Furthermore, increased consumption creates environmental challenges. As demand for products grows, so does the use of natural resources, manufacturing activity, packaging waste, and pollution. Industries such as fast fashion are frequently criticised for encouraging consumers to replace products long before their useful life has ended.
The world depicted in The Joneses may seem fictional, but it reflects a reality in which consumer decisions are increasingly shaped by social comparison and lifestyle marketing.
Conclusion
Advertising is one of the most influential forces shaping consumer behaviour in the modern world. It informs consumers, creates awareness, influences preferences, encourages purchases, and builds brand loyalty. However, it can also promote materialism, impulsive spending, social pressure, and environmental harm.
The lessons presented in The Joneses remain highly relevant today. In an era dominated by influencers, targeted advertising, and social media, consumers are often persuaded by the lifestyles they admire rather than the products they genuinely need.
As consumers, we must learn to recognise the persuasive techniques used in advertising and making purchasing decisions in a thoughtful and responsible manner.. By understanding how advertising influences our choices, we can enjoy its benefits while avoiding its potential drawbacks.
As advertising executive Leo Burnett once noted:
“Advertising says to people, ‘Here’s what we’ve got. Here’s what it will do for you. Here’s how to get it.'”
The real challenge for consumers is distinguishing true needs from purchases that fulfill immediate emotional desires.
Reflections on development and governance 