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The internet is a mall. Except the mall is /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/filled with hundreds o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f salespeople stalking you and trying to get your attention. Many people have tuned it out so well that they don't view the internet as a mall at all, but even though we don't actively consider ads, they still in/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/fluence us with their presence. This is because, rather than taking the central route to persuasion (trying to convince us logically through arguments), advertisers /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/focus on the peripheral route to persuasion (trying to trigger automatic responses that cause people to be attracted to a product without conscious thought). Even though you may have skipped that YouTube ad and skimmed through those marketing blogs that litter the results o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f most Google searches without even realizing they were trying to sell a product, the media we consume has an e/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/fect on us and we may end up buying things that we don’t actually want!

There are ways to combat this by developing counterarguments to every ad’s proposal to “buy me!”, consciously identi/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/fying the techniques an ad is using to in/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/fluence you, and dismissing them in /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/favor o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f considering your own needs. Here are 5 tactics ads use to in/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/fluence you and how to not /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/fall /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/for them.

Issue: Repetition

Ads stalk us /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/from website to website and weave their way into your desires through repetition. Advertisers are aware that repetition is usually necessary to convince someone to buy something.����

Solution: Be wary–did you want that the /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/first time you saw it? Or are you buying it because it has become /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/familiar to you?

Issue: Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon

Ever taken a quiz where you have to plug in your email to get the results? Or get o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/fered a “FREE e-book!” that also costs you lending your email address? This is one o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f internet businesses’ /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/favorite ways o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f using the /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/foot-in-the-door phenomenon- the phenomenon where people agreeing to a small thing makes them more likely to commit to a larger thing. I/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f you trade your email /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/for a 2-page PDF /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/file, you are more likely to trade your money /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/for a book because you made a previous commitment. Much more signi/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/ficantly, the repetition o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f receiving emails /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/from the brand increases /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/feelings o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/familiarity and commitment to buying a product. The /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/foot-in-the-/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/foor phenomenon is also exploited through o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/fering /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/free trials o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f apps or other products. I/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f the customer agrees to use the product /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/for a week, they are more likely to commit to buying the product.

Solution: I/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f you simply must know “Which chocolate am I?” (as I o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/ften ponder mysel/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f) use a junk email or unsubscribe /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/from the list when you get it instead o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f reluctantly letting a brand into your li/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/fe. Also, be aware o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f any /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/feelings that you owe the business something since you committed to one thing—you do not!

Issue: Attractiveness

“Attractiveness" comes in many /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/forms, including appealing to your sense o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f group identity. Simply the use o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f trendy colors in an ad can make certain groups o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f people /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/feel identi/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/fied with the ad and want to buy a product more, even i/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f the product does not match up with the ad’s aura.��

Solution: Be aware o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f your desire to /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/fit in with a particular subculture/age-group/etc and ask yoursel/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f i/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f you want to buy the product shown or the li/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/festyle the ad depicted.

Issue: Arousing Fear

Advertisers arouse /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/fear through tactics such as countdown timers on shopping sites, limited-time o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/fers, and “sales” that never end. The sense o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f scarcity these tactics create causes anxiety and a propensity to act on the /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/fear (buy the product).

Solution: Distance yoursel/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/from the urgency you /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/feel in the moment and access your decision-making mind. Ask, “Would I buy this i/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f I did not /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/feel anxious?”

Issue: Arousing Positive Feelings

Using humor or positive imagery/sounds in ads makes people more likely to be interested in a product because the product is associated with /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/feeling good. Humor can even cause people to trust a brand they would have been skeptical o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f otherwise. In addition, people in a good mood make /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/faster and more impulsive decisions which can cause them to buy products they would not have otherwise.

Solution: Ask, “Am I attracted to the product or to the positive /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/feelings the marketing o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f that product gave me?”

The next time you see an ad, look /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/for these techniques marketers use and combat their e/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/f/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ads/fect on you. Buy good products; not good marketing.��