{"id":7302,"date":"2026-01-21T09:14:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T13:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=7302"},"modified":"2026-01-23T13:12:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T17:12:58","slug":"manipulative-advertising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/manipulative-advertising\/","title":{"rendered":"Manipulative Advertising: 6 Dirty Tricks and Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>All businesses need to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-motivate-customers\/\">motivate customers<\/a> to do something, whether that\u2019s buying a product or a service. Does manipulative advertising work? What are the most common strategies of manipulative advertising? If you&#8217;re a buyer, how do you spot them? If you&#8217;re a seller, should you use them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;ll cover the six most common manipulative advertising tactics. We&#8217;ll look at their pros and cons and discuss whether they actually work, or if there&#8217;s a more effective way to advertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Originally Published: February 1, 2020<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Last Updated: January 21, 2026<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-two-types-of-advertising\">Two Types of Advertising<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are<strong> two ways we can motivate people to act: manipulative advertising and inspirational advertising.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Manipulations use outside influences <\/strong>to get people to buy a product or service. They use the \u201ccarrots and sticks\u201d model of behavior reinforcement. While manipulations may produce short-term gains, they <strong>don\u2019t create long-term loyalty<\/strong>.\u00a0This is the WHAT of business strategies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inspiration causes a person to act from internal will<\/strong>, not from outside influence. Commonly, these people are inspired by a company\u2019s WHY. Inspirations encourage loyalty, and loyalty leads to repeat business.\u00a0This is the WHY of business strategies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Don\u2019t Start With WHAT<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/simon-sinek-biography\/\">Simon Sinek<\/a> says that, unfortunately, most companies don\u2019t start with WHY; they start with WHAT. <strong>As the most superficial part of a business, WHAT is the easiest to identify and communicate to potential customers.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is why so much messaging centers around things like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mvp-features\/\">product features<\/a>, product popularity, and how successful the company is: The company is trying to convince potential customers that WHAT they\u2019re selling is good. However, even if everything the company says is true, such statements aren\u2019t inspirational, and this approach will ultimately fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Sinek says your WHAT won\u2019t inspire people to buy from you without a strong WHY, but other marketing experts disagree. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/purple-cow\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Purple Cow<\/em><\/a>, Seth Godin argues that products can succeed on their own, but only if they\u2019re remarkable enough to catch people\u2019s attention. To be truly remarkable, a product must be both <em>unique <\/em>enough to stand out from the crowd and <em>practical <\/em>enough that people want to buy it. For example, the Volkswagen Beetle\u2019s unique design got a lot of people talking about it (both positively and negatively). That talk served as free advertising, which, combined with the car\u2019s reliability, led directly to the Beetle\u2019s success.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">WHAT Relies on Manipulation, Not Inspiration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When companies lack a WHY to inspire their customers, they must instead turn to what Sinek calls <em>manipulations <\/em>to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-sell-a-product\/\">sell their products<\/a>. Manipulations are tactics that artificially influence customers to buy from your company or use its services. Some examples include pricing, promotions, fears, aspirations, peer pressure, and novelty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sinek adds that manipulations <em>do <\/em>work, but only in the short term\u2014none of these methods will create loyal repeat customers. Therefore, <strong>WHAT-focused companies have to constantly manipulate people into buying their products just to stay in business.<\/strong> Furthermore, it\u2019s inevitable that such a company will eventually use the wrong tactic or that customers will start to see through its phony messaging. When that happens, sales will dry up, and the business will collapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Sinek says manipulations aren\u2019t effective, but some research suggests just the opposite: Manipulative marketing is so effective (and pervasive) that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/how-not-to-think\/202406\/the-psychological-dangers-of-marketing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">it\u2019s affecting how people see the world<\/a>. Such messaging often leverages fear, anger, and outrage to capture attention, which can increase individual stress levels and societal polarization over time. Manipulative marketing also often relies on exaggerated claims that lead to consumer disappointment. This can erode trust in the company, as Sinek says\u2014alternatively, it can lead customers to think something is wrong with <em>them <\/em>rather than with the product, which contributes to issues ranging from anxiety to eating disorders.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-six-common-manipulative-advertising-tactics\"><strong>Six Common Manipulative Advertising Tactics<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are six common manipulative advertising tactics and why they don\u2019t work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-manipulative-advertising-tactic-1-price\">Manipulative Advertising Tactic <strong>#1: Price<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Lower prices induce people to buy, so companies engage in price wars and sell at rock-bottom prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But price manipulation can be dangerous for a company. <strong>When a customer becomes used to paying a low price, it can be nearly impossible to increase the cost of an item.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This creates a market of commodities, where companies have to create more products to keep their revenue up. So while lowering prices drives business, it also makes it hard to earn a profit in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-manipulative-advertising-tactic-2-promotions-nbsp\">Manipulative Advertising Tactic <strong>#2: Promotions&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Promotions are short-term programs (often referred to as \u201cvalue-added\u201d programs) that offer a <strong>temporary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-incentive-meaning-and-definition-economics\/\">incentive<\/a> to make a purchase immediately<\/strong>. Some common promotions include limited-time sales, cash-back offers, coupons, or mail-in rebates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve all experienced promotions, and they\u2019re a common manipulation in the car industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>When Japanese automakers started edging out their domestic counterparts, American car manufacturers like General Motors (GM) started massive incentive programs. But while they brought in customers and created a short-term solution, they also cut into GM\u2019s profit.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>GM had to discontinue some of its promotional programs, which caused its sales to decline. Customers had started to <em>expect <\/em>promotional pricing, and when it disappeared, they went back to buying from foreign auto companies.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To avoid the financial penalty of promotions, companies often design rebates to be difficult to cash in on. Nearly 40% of customers never get the rebate, since they don\u2019t follow the steps to get the refund. While this manipulation has a short-term financial advantage, it costs in long-term reputation and repeat business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-manipulative-advertising-tactic-3-fear\">Manipulative Advertising Tactic <strong>#3: Fear<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Fear is the most powerful manipulation because it taps into our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/protective-instinct\/\">survival instinct<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s also a common tactic: think of anti-drug advertisements or public service announcements that caution you to wear your seatbelt lest you die in an accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the business world, <strong>fear is often used to convince us that if we don\u2019t buy a particular service or product, something bad will happen to us. <\/strong>(Shortform example: a good example of this is pharmaceutical advertisements, where people are told that not taking a certain drug will adversely affect their longevity or quality of life.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While often nothing bad will <em>really <\/em>happen to you if you don\u2019t buy said product\/service, fear makes customers <em>feel <\/em>like it will\u2014which is an effective manipulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-manipulative-advertising-tactic-4-aspiration-nbsp\">Manipulative Advertising Tactic <strong>#4: Aspiration&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Aspiration taps into people\u2019s desire to have more, do more, or be better.<\/strong> They\u2019re most effective if the people they target are insecure or worry about achieving their goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aspiration sounds a bit like inspiration, but they\u2019re different things. For example, aspiration gets people to buy gym passes, but it takes inspiration to get a person to <em>use <\/em>them. That\u2019s why gym memberships rise by 12 percent in January, but only a fraction of those people ever use them.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The biggest issue with aspirations as a manipulation tactic is that they create a desire for short-term satisfaction when only long-term solutions work.<\/strong> Aspirations might get people to act for a little while, but they fail to maintain their momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-manipulative-advertising-tactic-5-peer-pressure-nbsp\">Manipulative Advertising Tactic <strong>#5: Peer Pressure&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When a company claims that a majority of people or experts are using their product, they\u2019re using social pressure&#8211;also known as peer pressure&#8211;as a manipulation. That\u2019s why advertisements often make claims like \u201cfour out of five experts agree\u201d or that \u201cmillions of satisfied customers\u201d believe their product is the best!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Peer pressure works because it plays into our deep-seated fear that other people might know something we don\u2019t. <strong>In other words, by invoking the majority, peer pressure makes us worry that our decisions are wrong.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s why celebrity endorsements can be so effective. When a celebrity talks about a product, it makes people think the product is good, or that buying that product will make us more like the celebrity endorser. Think of examples like Michael Jordan endorsing Gatorade and Nike, or Tiger Woods endorsing everything from Titleist golf balls to GM cars.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-manipulative-advertising-tactic-6-novelty-nbsp\">Manipulative Advertising Tactic <strong>#6: Novelty&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Novelty \u2014 defined as being \u201cnew\u201d or \u201cunusual\u201d \u2014 is often marketed as \u201cinnovation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But novelty and innovation are very different from one another.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Novelty is merely introducing something new and will eventually fade into the past. Novelty is more of a gimmick than a real improvement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Innovation is a change that is valuable and persists in the industry well into the future. It is a real reinvention, in ways that matter to customers in the long-term.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Ultimately, <strong>novelty tricks consumers into thinking that a product or service is innovative when it\u2019s not.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-manipulative-advertising-example\">Manipulative Advertising Example<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We can see the difference between novelty and innovation when we look at two \u201cinnovative\u201d phones: the Motorola RAZR and the Apple iPhone.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The RAZR was billed as \u201cinnovative\u201d and the future of mobile phones because it featured innovations like \u201caircraft-grade aluminum\u201d and a \u201cchemically-etched keypad.\u201d While they sold a lot of phones initially, within four years, Motorola&#8217;s stock was trading at 50 percent of its former value. What was supposed to be innovation was actually novelty &#8211; it didn\u2019t last.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The iPhone was marketed much like the RAZR: as the future of mobile phones. But unlike the RAZR, the iPhone really <em>was <\/em>innovative, and, Sinek claims, not because of the touch screen and removing buttons. The iPhone changed how the phone industry worked by telling phone manufacturers what their phone would do (rather than phone manufacturers deciding what features they\u2019d support). This was a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/switch-by-chip-and-dan-heath\/\">lasting change<\/a> that continues today.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Whenever companies introduce multiple minor variants of a product, that\u2019s a sign that they\u2019re just practicing novelty instead of innovation<\/strong>, like Colgate\u2019s thirty-two types of toothpaste.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>All businesses need to motivate customers to do something, whether that\u2019s buying a product or a service. Does manipulative advertising work? What are the most common strategies of manipulative advertising? If you&#8217;re a buyer, how do you spot them? If you&#8217;re a seller, should you use them? We&#8217;ll cover the six most common manipulative advertising tactics. We&#8217;ll look at their pros and cons and discuss whether they actually work, or if there&#8217;s a more effective way to advertise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":7322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,104,9],"tags":[70],"class_list":["post-7302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-marketing","category-psychology","tag-start-with-why","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Manipulative Advertising: 6 Dirty Tricks and Examples - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Does manipulative advertising work? Every strategy has its benefits and drawbacks. Learn the six most common tactics, and pros and cons.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/manipulative-advertising\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Manipulative Advertising: 6 Dirty Tricks and Examples\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Does manipulative advertising work? Every strategy has its benefits and drawbacks. 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