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30 Corporate Marketing Tactics That Shaped How We Live Without Us Realizing
Interview With Expert
There’s a lot of talk about sustainability and ethics these days, with many companies claiming to put people first. But while some genuinely try, the reality is that most corporations prioritize profits above all else.
To keep the money flowing, they rely on clever marketing, subtle manipulation, and outright lies—so much so that many of their ideas become so ingrained in society that we don’t even question them.
Curious about these hidden agendas, one Redditor asked others to share the most successful cases of corporate propaganda that have become widely accepted as normal. Scroll down to see what they had to say, and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
That suing McDonalds for spilling hot coffee on yourself is a frivolous lawsuit and an example of why corporations need more protection against lawsuits
To clarify the point--the hot coffee lawsuit was not frivolous and thinking it is is corporate propaganda.
RELATED:
#3
Oil corporations have convinced millions of Americans that there is doubt about climate change. They used the same tactic that the tobacco industry used to sow doubt about the harmfulness of smoking cigarettes.
Cigarettes are deadly and so is climate change.
Now they have retreated to OK there is climate change but it’s just a natural cycle. That’s not what scientists say, but unfortunately for us all there are millions of Americans who believe Sean Hannity over scientists.
Bored Panda reached out to marketing psychologist Akash to get his take on the topic and ask whether companies can market their ideas ethically.
“Every organization or company has business ethics and a code of conduct, and they do follow it,” Akash said. “But in the end, the thing that matters most is profit. That’s the ultimate goal of every business, except for NGOs and the government.”
However, he explained that while profit is the driving force, not everything companies do is unethical. “If businesses focused only on profit, they would resort to unethical practices. But today, many companies shape consumer behavior in ways that aren’t necessarily deceptive—just strategic. Take Uber, Zomato, or Flipkart, for example. These companies didn’t exploit consumers; they identified pain points and gaps in the market and provided solutions.”
On the other hand, many corporations uphold ethics through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. “For instance, Reliance’s Vantara initiative and the Tata Group’s donations help build consumer trust while balancing ethics and profits,” Akash added.
“Ethics = Trust = Profits.”
#4
That we the consumers are at fault for all of the plastic waste in the world. It is a free rider problem — and the corporations are not paying for the harm they have done and are continuing to do to the world.
#6
Fast fashion. it needs to die. not only is it an overheating unsustainable system. it promotes waist, and you end up spending more money on them anyway in the long run. it is better to make a small wardrobe of a few well-made clothes that fit you well and will last a long time over sometimes literal plastic.
Akash also highlighted that a company’s success isn’t just about the market they serve—it’s about how well they tap into emotions, habits, and decision-making patterns to create an irresistible connection with their brand.
Big brands are particularly skilled at using psychology to influence consumers:
- They make it personal. Ever seen an ad that feels like it knows you? That’s data-driven personalization at work.
- They sell a feeling, not a product. Apple doesn’t just sell tech—it sells innovation and creativity.
- They create urgency. Limited-time offers make people act fast.
- They hook you with small steps. Free trials or introductory deals get customers invested.
- They make themselves familiar. The more you see a brand, the more you trust it.
- They remove friction. One-click checkouts make buying effortless.
#7
“Warning, this product may cause bleeding, swelling, hair loss, thoughts of s*****e depression, cancer, anal leakage, and death”
Meanwhile it shows a bunch of happy people playing frisbee in the park with grandma
#8
American exceptionalism and individualism
Also, the idea that your work ethic (or rather how much time you give your job) is what gives you value.
#9
Breakfast foods are only for breakfast and that's all you're supposed to eat in the morning. I had clam chowder for breakfast my first day living alone at 17. F**k the system.
#10
Planned obsolescence in technology.
whymypersonality:
You mean how most technology literally quits working every few years? Cause I'm getting sick of being literally forced to buy a new phone every 2-3 years because the old one wont turn on anymore.
#12
The food pyramid was created in 1977 as the (heavily influenced by companies) USDA made new dietary recommendations to cut out fat and replace it with “heart healthy” starches and carbs. It actually led to a growth in obesity rates.
#13
Clovers being weeds I read a while back that most w**d killers can't differentiate between clovers and other weeds they just k**l all of them so companies began emphasizing clovers as a w**d so they could still sell their chemicals
I learned this fact on reddit tho so take it with a grain of salt.
panties_in_my_a*s:
You may have learned it on reddit, but it’s true. Clover and other common, lawn-healthy broadleaf plants were demonized by agrichemical companies so that they could sell herbicide chemicals. Here is a wonderful, readable source that will make you and your green space more healthy.
Clover is great for your lawn because it fixes nitrogen. Farmers rotate nitrogen-fixing plants into their fields because grains (like grass) gradually deplete nitrogen. Nobody would need to fertilize their lawn if they just left the f*****g clover there.
Fun fact (not actually fun) is the herbicides were designed to k**l German potato crops and Japanese rice crops in World War II. They were never used that way in the end, but to this day we are spraying our lawns with chemicals originally designed as weapons to threaten civilian food security. WWII was f*cked up.
#15
Sorry, I keep writing these because I can't sleep.
The whole notion that government is inefficient and incompetent, a drag on business.
I'm no communist, but there is always a role for government in a well-run economy. Business may be more efficient, but why do we focus on efficiency to the exclusion of all other considerations? What about robustness? What about fairness? Businesses are not incented to improve society, only their position within it. Government should act as counterweight to ensure a Leviathan like Amazon does not sink us.
As for the incompetence of government, all I will say is this. I've worked as a consultant to government and now in Big Tech. I've seen as much, if not more, incompetence here than I worked in the public sector.
#17
The white picket fence American dream. It was actually a propaganda campaign on the 50s to try and get women out of the workforce so men returning from war would have jobs to go back to.
#20
Women’s razors. Marketing shaving to women and convincing them and the rest of the population that being hairless was more feminine.
#23
Expensive skincare.
That $300 moisturizing cream doesn't necessarily have better ingredients than a $10 cream.
#24
The fact that sharing your salary with your colleagues in the same position as you is taboo.
Some companies I've worked for have gone so far as to put it in their handbook as a rule. It's just them trying to cheap out as much as possible. Because when I bring up the fact that the new hire makes more than I do after gaining seniority, suddenly they want to be mad at me.
#25
The concept of waking up at 6-7am to go sit in a desk and be stifled of your creativity and personal experiences for 6-8 hours a day. This is an outdated system to get people trained and docile to work in factories, and now successfully causes generations of kids to be depressed.
#27
Those who sell top cash Ibuprofen or Paracetamol. Normal cheap/store brand stuff works just as well. Just very good marketing.
NarrativeScorpion:
The vast majority of d***s have store brand varieties. People just need to learn to look at the active ingredients.
#28
People eating KFC during Christmas time in Japan because of KFC's marketing campaign that promoted their products as a traditional Western Christmas treat.
#31
Using enough toothpaste to cover the entire head of the toothbrush in commercials. Total marketing ploy.
#33
News Media. Everyone thinks it's normal for news corporations to lie and scare people for their own political propaganda/political gain.
#34
my favourite example of this is supreme
insanely overpriced clothes that are supposed to be "hip hop" or "urban"
it's 50% owned by the carlyle group, the largest private equity firm in the world
so while you rock your $5,000 hoodie that you slaved to afford walkin on the street, the filthy rich dude in the back seat of the bentley passing your poor a*s by grins, seeing that you make him a teeny tiny tick richer
#36
Making “thin” versions of food to make people believe that they are eating less, but then those people end up buying more of that food to satiate the hunger they always had for it. Such a pointless product.
#37
Cinco de Mayo was adopted as mexican pride day by the Miller Brewing Company. Most of us just enjoy a long weekend and don't care about it. It's not Independance Day.
#39
As someone who works at a bank I can tell you the bank does not get charged from the other bank when one of their customers uses another machine. It’s literally 100% profit. And a f**k ton of it
#41
"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" was made up by James Caleb Jackson and John Harvey Kellogg to sell their cereal. It is propaganda that is considered true.
#42
The concept of individual litterbugs. Corporations such as the tobacco industry helped fund the nonprofit front Keep America Beautiful to shift responsibility of cheap, environmentally damaging packaging from the producers to the consumers. And it totally worked.
#43
Santa Clause wore many colors until Coca Cola decided that Coke needed winter sales and dressed him up in red and white coke colors and made a huge ad campaign. Now that’s all he wears.
#44
Routine infant circumcision in the US. Started as a 'cure for masturbation', then continued as more of a tradition that was supported by the medical industry with misleading and exaggerated claims of its ability to prevent diseases. People are also misled into believing that it's just excess skin, rather than understanding that it contains some of the most sensitive parts of the penis. Unfortunately, the men who were cut themselves wouldn't have any way of knowing that, and their wives even less so. It's a multi-billion dollar industry now.
In reality the difference is trivial, and most ailments caused by the foreskin can be treated and cured with modern medicine anyway. On the rare occasion that circumcision is the only effective treatment option, you can just... you know... do it when it's actually needed, rather than as a preventive measure. It's kind of insane.
#45
The price of wedding rings. Traditionally, it could be any ring and it'd be fine as long as it fit around your ring-finger.
The idea that the price should be:
Rule of thumb: Spend 2 months of your income on an engagement ring.
Is total b******t and a complete waste of money. Money that would be much better suited for the relationship itself.
A new study found that couples who spend less on their wedding tend to have longer-lasting marriages than those who splurge. The study, by two economics professors at Emory University, found a similar correlation between less-expensive engagement rings and lower divorce rates.
#46
The funny twitter accounts some companies have.
"Oh Wendy's is so fun on twitter!" IT'S NOT THE COMPANY, IT'S SOMEONE WHO THEY EMPLOYED TO WRITE WITTY TWEETS.
#48
Didn't see it posted earlier. But buying a new phone just because a new version of the same phone is available. Or buying the "pro"/"+" version of the same phone.
And also the previous versions of the phone not being sold after the new one is on the market.
#50
Makeup. It's "essential" for women to wear it or they'll get made fun of or think they don't look good enough. I'm a guy so I'm not the directed audience obviously, but I still don't like the idea of putting plastic and chemicals all over my face until I look like a Barbie doll; plus my autistic a*s would be rubbing that c**p off in a heartbeat! I only think of people as ugly if they're ugly on the inside, because on the outside we're all human and I don't care what the unreasonable beauty standards say.
#51
Owning cars, building highways, living in the suburbs, having a room for your car in your house, 20 acre parking lots, getting your drivers license as a teen... basically, everything in America involving cars comes from corporate propaganda. The rest of the world has mass transit and functional cities instead.
#52
I'd love to recommend the book "The Way We Eat Now" by Bee Wilson. It really opened my eyes about how the "choices" we make as food consumers aren't really choices when they're dictated by the food industry. I mean, we consume what is made available to us at the grocery store, and our desires are often shaped to what is marketed to us not just through advertisements and food network shows, but also influencers in social media. She even touches upon Soylent. Not only that but she discusses the way we eat, the culture of how we eat, not the food / nutrition, but like, sitting down to meals etc, that's changed a lot too.
We may think that eating a grape today is the same as it was in Greek and Roman times, but even our grapes and the simple act of eating a grape has changed in modern times. Fascinating book.
#55
The concept of jaywalking is the result of successful propaganda.
Local car firms got boy scouts to hand out cards to pedestrians explaining jaywalking. "These kids would be posted on sidewalks and when they saw someone starting to jaywalk they'd hand them one of these cards," says Norton. "It would tell them that it was dangerous and old fashioned and that it's a new era and we can't cross streets that way."
Clowns were commonly used in parades or pageants to portray jaywalkers as a throwback to rural, ignorant, pre-motor age ways.
Another ruse was to provide local newspapers with a free service. Reporters would submit a few facts about local traffic accidents to Detroit, and the auto industry's safety committee would send back a full report on the situation in their city.
"The newspaper coverage quite suddenly changes, so that in 1923 they're all blaming the drivers, and by late 1924 they're all blaming jaywalking," Norton says.
#56
The Pledge of Allegiance was composed as part of a marketing campaign to sell magazine subscriptions to schoolchildren.
#57
Jaywalking was made up by the auto industry when people kept getting killed by cars that, at the time, were a relatively new thing.
#60
Baby gear. New parents nowadays need the stroller, the swing, the play mat, the bouncer, the bassinet, the crib, the pack n’ play...babies used to sleep in drawers.
What do you think ?
kzys59pcrp 1 year ago
Being told you have to listen to a doctor because they know best. I’ve been living with my illness for years but I need to listen to a doctor who barely knows anything about it? Besides they always tell you the same things like exercise more and drink more water. As if I haven’t tried that.
BarkingSquirell 1 year ago
Mine has been good so far and, if I showed up to the tests, could hep me figure out what is going on with my fragile, frail body (cannot really walk anymore.)
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kzys59pcrp 1 year ago
Being told you have to listen to a doctor because they know best. I’ve been living with my illness for years but I need to listen to a doctor who barely knows anything about it? Besides they always tell you the same things like exercise more and drink more water. As if I haven’t tried that.
BarkingSquirell 1 year ago
Mine has been good so far and, if I showed up to the tests, could hep me figure out what is going on with my fragile, frail body (cannot really walk anymore.)
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