Around the turn of the 20th century, Gladys Babson Hannaford, nicknamed the Diamond Lady, was giving hundreds of "educational" talks on the gems every year. However, the "expert" was actually employed by an ad agency with a simple mission: get American women to crave diamonds. Businesses have long understood that in order to compete in the market, a good product might not be enough. You also need a compelling story.
As consumers, we must be aware of how marketing boardrooms twist reality if we want to make rational choices with our money. So, we looked at a few online discussions where people have been sharing the corporate myths they discovered — from hygiene to eating habits, so much of our daily life has been targeted.
#1
"Oxycontin is not highly addictive." Crafted by the deplorable Sackler family and their Purdue Pharma for the sake of profit.
75points
#2
Whole wedding industry. Rings, dresses, huge parties.
70points
#3
Pretty sure the diamond industry became a thing because DeBeers said so.
64points
#4
The whole vaccines cause autism/ anti vax b******t. A doctor came up with his own vaccine and wanted to sell it, so he wrote a "paper" which was just him asking the parents of 12 autistic children if they had been vaccinated and then saying that there was a 100% correlation between ONE particular vaccine and autism. This became the basis of the whole vaccines cause autism nonsense.
Pulsar_the_Spacenerd:
Andrew Wakefield was (is) a f**king wild man. Not only did he do that, but he repeatedly refused to retract the study. All other people involved except for one rejected it.
There was also a whole drama about unnecessary colonoscopies for children with autism. I don't know why it was involved in the "study," but people weren't properly informed of them and they weren't necessary for anything.
Pulsar_the_Spacenerd:
Andrew Wakefield was (is) a f**king wild man. Not only did he do that, but he repeatedly refused to retract the study. All other people involved except for one rejected it.
There was also a whole drama about unnecessary colonoscopies for children with autism. I don't know why it was involved in the "study," but people weren't properly informed of them and they weren't necessary for anything.
57points
#5
Fertilizer/lawn care product companies have long diagnosed clover as a weed, when in reality clover is a healthy part of most grassy areas. It doesn't look perfect when combined with most varieties of grass, but clover isn't exactly an invasive plant that destroys a healthy lawn.
54points
#6
There's an ad on daytime TV here in the UK which is pushing electric roll-out canopies for your garden. Nothing wrong with that, I'm sure they're great. But the ad starts:
"Wouldn't you like to enjoy your garden without the continual glare of the Sun?"
Britain is a lovely place, but "the continual glare of the Sun" is not one of it's major problems...
"Wouldn't you like to enjoy your garden without the continual glare of the Sun?"
Britain is a lovely place, but "the continual glare of the Sun" is not one of it's major problems...
54points
#7
Many feminine cleaning products are worse than useless, except when used as an insult.
anon:
Yea....if you've got bad smells down there that don't go away with some warm water and a clean washcloth, go to the doctor. All women get some funky v*gina smells on occasion. Especially after an intense workout or while on your period or during periods of high stress. It's truly nothing that you need to freak out about, just give the area a good rinse with water.
Please don't put any type of cleaners inside the v*gina.
anon:
Yea....if you've got bad smells down there that don't go away with some warm water and a clean washcloth, go to the doctor. All women get some funky v*gina smells on occasion. Especially after an intense workout or while on your period or during periods of high stress. It's truly nothing that you need to freak out about, just give the area a good rinse with water.
Please don't put any type of cleaners inside the v*gina.
48points
#8
That aging is a bad thing that can be staved off or even reversed. Ridiculous, but billions of dollars per year go to that pointless hope.
45points
#9
You barely need to put any toothpaste on your brush, just a pea-sized blop. The ads all show people squeezing these massive bloop logs onto their toothbrushes because it makes you run out three times as fast.
41points
#10
Breakfast being the most important meal of the day. This was made up by the Kellogg's corporation in 1917.
polkadotdress:
Kellogg was a Seventh Day Adventist who started his company based on the dietary beliefs of his religion, particularly cereal foods as a source of healthful nutrition.
polkadotdress:
Kellogg was a Seventh Day Adventist who started his company based on the dietary beliefs of his religion, particularly cereal foods as a source of healthful nutrition.
37points
#11
Essential oils. Companies claim they can cure/treat just about anything. Seriously, there's oils to treat lethargy and bad luck.
anon:
It's terrifying that companies promote consuming essential oils. They're not meant to be eaten.
Sure, some of them can have some mild positive effects. Lavender can be calming, peppermint can be stimulating and help with headaches, eucalyptus can help with congestion, annnnd I can't actually think of any others that do anything other than smell good.
I love diffusing very small amounts (1-2 drops in a diffuser with 2 cups of water that takes about three hours to diffuse fully). Makes the house smell nice. That's really the main benefit....
Hot tip: they all cause bad luck because you just dropped $25 on astrology that you rub on your skin.
anon:
It's terrifying that companies promote consuming essential oils. They're not meant to be eaten.
Sure, some of them can have some mild positive effects. Lavender can be calming, peppermint can be stimulating and help with headaches, eucalyptus can help with congestion, annnnd I can't actually think of any others that do anything other than smell good.
I love diffusing very small amounts (1-2 drops in a diffuser with 2 cups of water that takes about three hours to diffuse fully). Makes the house smell nice. That's really the main benefit....
Hot tip: they all cause bad luck because you just dropped $25 on astrology that you rub on your skin.
36points
#12
That women need to shave every single day, or even shave at all.
littlesmama12:
I shaved my legs regularly as a teenager and young adult because I thought I had to. I've let it go in recent years and discovered my legs are very nearly hairless naturally. So much time wasted!
littlesmama12:
I shaved my legs regularly as a teenager and young adult because I thought I had to. I've let it go in recent years and discovered my legs are very nearly hairless naturally. So much time wasted!
36points
#13
Febreeze garbage cans scenters. Just empty the garbage can!
32points
#14
The food pyramid is no longer in use but bread and grain being the base of the food pyramid was due to bread companies lobbying politicians to make that happen.
Pulsar_the_Spacenerd:
There was also considerable dairy lobbying that went into it. Dairy is most certainly not a critical food group, as 70% of people can't consume it.
Edit: Lactose intolerant people can consume dairy but often don't due to side effects within the intestines.
Pulsar_the_Spacenerd:
There was also considerable dairy lobbying that went into it. Dairy is most certainly not a critical food group, as 70% of people can't consume it.
Edit: Lactose intolerant people can consume dairy but often don't due to side effects within the intestines.
25points
#15
Fat is fattening, most fat passes through the gut and is digsted like most other protiens. Sugar companies made it up because when something doesn't use fat in it's recipe people often add unnecessary amounts of sugar to make it taste better.
GoabNZ:
Industries using lots of sugar in their products: "gee obesity and heart attacks are occurring in people who consume our products. What do we do?! Oh, they tend to consume fat too? Quick, blame the fat! It's called fat afterall, so if you avoid it you won't get fat and die!"
And if anybody denies that, don't forget Coca Cola paid Harvard research something like $50000 for a anti-fat study in the 70's.
GoabNZ:
Industries using lots of sugar in their products: "gee obesity and heart attacks are occurring in people who consume our products. What do we do?! Oh, they tend to consume fat too? Quick, blame the fat! It's called fat afterall, so if you avoid it you won't get fat and die!"
And if anybody denies that, don't forget Coca Cola paid Harvard research something like $50000 for a anti-fat study in the 70's.
24points
#16
That your hair needs to be shampooed every day.
22points
#17
Diamonds equal love. Greatest marketing campaign of all time.
22points
#18
Multi level marketing companies telling you that you are going to be rich with their fantastic business opportunity. I know it's not 100% a myth because a few people will but the vast majority won't.
22points
#19
Engagement ring should be 3 months’ salary. WTAF?
21points
#20
Dasani water in the UK was pure mineral water.
Sadly it was tap water with higher than average levels of Bromate, a potentially carcinogenic compound.
Sadly it was tap water with higher than average levels of Bromate, a potentially carcinogenic compound.
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20points