But would companies spend billions on advertising each year if it didn't work?
I think a lot of advertising does not work but at the end of the day it is we, the consumer, that pay the mark up to cover this "oh so necessary" advertising, and the over inflated salary of the marketing manager that approved it, and the advertising manager that dreamed it up.
Companies feel that they must compete with advertising campaigns to get the business and any rubish is ok if it gets people talking about them.
The result folks is: tv pays millions for the right to broadcast football matches and a few footballers and their agents become very rich, some company executives get rich by paying all this and others get rich by reducing costs (reducing workers), moving production offshore, etc., deals are given to big stores that force small shops out of businesses. Consumers then can't find the cash to pay for "must have" products and borrow to buy them.
Gradually the whole economy spirals down, many people start having trouble putting food on the table, and we arrive at the point where any little hiccup sends us into depression.
Welcome to the world of;higher prices, closing factories, unemployment, debt, and depression (and here I am talking about people, not the economy).
Most of us on here are moderately, if not very, well off but the world is changing and it would not take much to tip the balance.
Sorry to be so pessimistic. I'll get off the soap box now
