The segment got me thinking about the larger issues of ‘independent thought’ and the blurring of ‘promotion’ and ‘information’ in contemporary culture.
Witness the growing popularity of advertorials in reputable newspapers and magazines, in which corporations or special interest groups pay to have ‘editorially formatted copy’ written about them to surround their advertisements, all bearing such headings as ‘sponsored supplement’ or ‘special information feature.’
Count the number of well-known brands that we are exposed to in a typical Hollywood movie or TV show. Product placement is big business.
The burgeoning field of branded content, accelerated by social media, involves brands creating their own editorial or entertainment-style programming that, to a greater or lesser extent, allows them to focus attention on their own products without the clutter of competing brands.
The prevalence of celebrity endorsements for products ranging from fragrances to fast food suggests that many consumers crave reassurance or status when making purchasing decisions.
For me, the most practical way to cope these days is to carefully choose brands that you identify with and trust, whether it’s a newspaper (in my case, The Globe and Mail), a clothing retailer (L.L. Bean) or a line of haircare products (whatever my stylist at Fiorio on Bayview recommends).
Just don’t expect that your choices will yield “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
