The German philosopher and sociologist, Theodor Adorno was a critic of what he described as the culture industry, which is the term he used to describe the commercial marketing of culture. In the book, Dialectic of Enlightenment, it was described that the purpose of the culture industry is to ensure the masses continue to follow and obey market interests for economic benefit.

Specifically, Adorno said capitalism corrupts us by not selling us the things that we really need. In today’s world stores, such as Walmart or Amazon give us the impression that everything we want is available thanks to their large amount and variety of goods on sale. Adorno said that what we really want is obstructed by capitalism so that we settle as a substitute for manufactured desires by large companies whose interest is in profit, rather than our wellbeing.

As an example, some needs that we crave and require in order to prosper include happiness and a sense of community and connection. Advertisers use these cravings to their advantage by showing these things we want and then connect them to what they’re trying to sell, which we don’t truly need.

So, when the television displays an advert showing a group of friends all laughing, joking and having a great time together, they’ll all be holding and drinking the brand of beer that the seller will urge us to buy at the end.

Another example might be displaying popularity and status through an advert showing somebody receiving a lot of attention getting out of a fast car or going to an exclusive event, when in fact the advertiser is actually selling an aftershave or perfume. By purchasing the product, the consumer is buying the myth of status, rather than the product purely on its own merit.