The BBC documentary "The Century of the Self" really delves into the role that Bernays played in changing the notion of selling on the basis of utility to one of selling on the basis of emotion, e.g. from "Buy this car because it offers superior reliability" to "Buy this car because you will attract women" etc.
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It's not neutral information that is conveyed. It's really more propaganda.
And sometimes it's really subtle. Check the Wikipedia article on Edward Bernays, a nephew of Freud who used the Freud's theories for advertising.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays
The BBC documentary "The Century of the Self" really delves into the role that Bernays played in changing the notion of selling on the basis of utility to one of selling on the basis of emotion, e.g. from "Buy this car because it offers superior reliability" to "Buy this car because you will attract women" etc.