>"I would say anything designed to succeed by hijacking human brain chemistry instead of providing superior or novel quality is probably worth regulating at some level."
My point is that there is no real dichotomy, 'Breaking Bad' and menthol cigarettes are not so different; they each possess both qualities.
I'm not a smoker, but adding a nice flavor to a (previously unflavored) cigarette seems to be 'superior and novel'.
You originally posted that:
>"Advertising is an act of malice, particularly with addictive products."
But changed it to:
>"Manipulative advertising is an act of malice, particularly with addictive products."
What do you see as the difference between "manipulative advertising" and regular "advertising", and how is either (or both) malicious? Advertising is basically telling people that you are offering them something, and trying to persuade them to buy/use it, and I am not sure how that is "characterized by unscrupulous control of a situation or person."
You are talking to two different people, and the streams are kind of crossing.
I agree adding a flavor can be superior and novel, but if you read what I originally wrote it was specifically worded to make the addictive quality the overriding concern. Menthol wasn't more addictive because of the flavor, it was addictive because it allowed the user to get more nicotine per hit.
> You originally posted that: (...) But changed it to: (...)
Yes, because I wanted to narrow down my originally too broad statement before picking on the generalization will derail the subthread (as it sometimes happens on HN).
> What do you see as the difference between "manipulative advertising" and regular "advertising", and how is either (or both) malicious?
Sure, but they were developed and implemented to better hijack human behavior, which was part of the investigation into the tobacco industry.
You presented a dichotomy:
>"I would say anything designed to succeed by hijacking human brain chemistry instead of providing superior or novel quality is probably worth regulating at some level."
My point is that there is no real dichotomy, 'Breaking Bad' and menthol cigarettes are not so different; they each possess both qualities.
Were they, or were they marketed as such until the perception stuck?
Manipulative advertising is an act of malice, particularly with addictive products.
I'm not a smoker, but adding a nice flavor to a (previously unflavored) cigarette seems to be 'superior and novel'.
You originally posted that:
>"Advertising is an act of malice, particularly with addictive products."
But changed it to:
>"Manipulative advertising is an act of malice, particularly with addictive products."
What do you see as the difference between "manipulative advertising" and regular "advertising", and how is either (or both) malicious? Advertising is basically telling people that you are offering them something, and trying to persuade them to buy/use it, and I am not sure how that is "characterized by unscrupulous control of a situation or person."
You are talking to two different people, and the streams are kind of crossing.
I agree adding a flavor can be superior and novel, but if you read what I originally wrote it was specifically worded to make the addictive quality the overriding concern. Menthol wasn't more addictive because of the flavor, it was addictive because it allowed the user to get more nicotine per hit.
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> You originally posted that: (...) But changed it to: (...)
Yes, because I wanted to narrow down my originally too broad statement before picking on the generalization will derail the subthread (as it sometimes happens on HN).
> What do you see as the difference between "manipulative advertising" and regular "advertising", and how is either (or both) malicious?
I'm glad you asked! I wrote an essay on this very topic the other day: http://jacek.zlydach.pl/blog/2019-07-31-ads-as-cancer.html.
1 reply →