The Influence of Advertising

"When I'm watching my TV, and a man comes on to tell me, how white my shirts can be." Perhaps you recognize those lyrics from "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones. What a classic line about advertising. Can't you picture someone trying to sell you Tide or some other detergent, all of which do the same exact job of cleaning your clothes? So what makes you buy one product instead of the other? Advertising! Well, I suppose product placement in stores matters too (is the product on a good shelf that's eye level, or a low shelf so that you'll barely see it?) Don't forget about peer influence! I can safely say many of us aren't influenced by our friends to buy a certain type of detergent, but surely we are influenced when it comes to items like jeans, sneakers, shoes, handbags, etc. Such everyday items are often used as status symbols to impress our friends. We can buy jeans for $15 at Wal-Mart, but many of us will choose to pay much more for trendy brand names to show them off to our peers. How has advertising influenced you? And how do your peers influence what you buy and wear?