哦，伙计你看，没有了格子衬衫，蝴蝶领结和瘦腿牛仔裤，我成不了“潮人”。我那无拘无束的挚友，戴着头饰带和流苏包，也仅仅是“浪人”。 我那位“预科生风格”的妹妹少有不穿豆子靴和斜纹开襟毛衣露面的。有一天我会开着奔驰的，因为. . . 为什么不呢？而且, 当我的一切心愿以及附着其上的商标令我头疼得厉害时，我就吃一颗止疼药，然后到家门口的“星巴克”去喝一杯我每天必喝的摩卡拿铁咖啡。你知道我要说的是什么，因为你悟性这么高，而且无疑是一名千禧后，以啥也不信天下老子第一著称，对上一辈人容易上当受骗的那些下三滥洗脑宣传百毒不侵。可是，你真的百毒不侵吗？
Ah, but you see my friend, I fail to be "hipster" without the checkered shirt, bow tie, and skinny jeans. My free-spirited best friend is only "boho" with her headband and fringe bag. And my "preppy" sister is rarely seen without her bean boots and striped cardigans. One day, I will drive a Mercedes-Benz because, well why wouldn't I? And when all of my aspirations and the labels attached to them cause in me a great migraine, I will take Menol before stopping at the neighborhood Starbucks for my daily mocha latte. You see where this is going because you are so perceptive and undoubtedly a Millennial, known for your skepticism, feelings of self-importance, and immunity to the pathetic propaganda that so easily tricked the previous generations. But, are you immune to being tricked?
研究研究下列定义再说，可能对你有好处。它们每一个字眼都是“谷歌”一搜就出来的。
You would do well to study the following list of definitions before continuing. They were all found via a simple Google search for the respective term.
资本主义：一种这样的经济政治制度：该国的贸易和工业均不是国有而是私有控制，唯利润是图。
capitalism: an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.
消费主义：这样一种社会和经济秩序和理念：鼓励不断增加获得商品与服务的数量。
consumerism: a social and economic order and ideology that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts.
洗脑：用来影响听众和推行一项日程的资讯，尤其是带有偏见或误导性的资讯。
propaganda: information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to influence an audience and further an agenda.
广告：各公司用来说服受众购买其产品及/或服务的营销交流。
advertising：the marketing communication used by companies to persuade an audience to purchase their products and/or services.
单纯曝光效应：通过调节加强对某种东西的熟悉度让人们对它产生一种偏爱的心理现象。将公众对某些东西的喜好移情到另一些东西上去，使他们对某种产品产生正面的联想。
mere exposure: a psychological phenomenon in which people develop a preference for things through familiarity affective conditioning. The transfer of feelings from one set of items to another to encourage the public to associate a product with positivity.
当然，你已经超越升华了，不再受上述这些荒唐的亚文化标签所操纵。
Certainly, you have ascended beyond the manipulation accompanying such ridiculous subculture labels as those mentioned above.
你啥都听过啥也见过。你周围都是广告。我们生活在一个商业世界――一个空前依附于消费主义的资本主义经济。但那些狡猾的小魔鬼想拽你下水？还差远呢！你是这么以为的。
You have seen it and heard it all. Advertising is all around you; we live in a commercial world—a capitalist economy with an unparalleled attachment to consumerism. But those sly little devils are far from bringing you to the dark side. Or so you think.
谁都不想这么容易受影响。可是，你听好了：广告无处不在，因为它管用。 美国公司每年花700亿美元在电视广告上，而我们还没算上像电台，杂志，浏览器缓存等其它媒介，甚至还有那些可怕的社交媒体“赞助”的广告。实际上，我们谁都不愿被操纵，可都被操纵。广告的本质就是一种洗脑，因为它用有限的资讯改变人们的观念――它既不客观也不全面。
Nobody wants to feel easily influenced. Yet, I beg you to hear me out: advertising is everywhere because it works. U.S. companies spend an annual $70 billion in television ads, and this is before we take a look at other mediums of advertising like radios, magazines, website cookies, and even those terrible social media "sponsored" ads. The truth is we don't like to feel manipulated, but we are. Advertising is by its nature a form of propaganda in that it changes perceptions with limited information—it is neither objective nor complete.
广告旨在做几件事：
Advertising is meant to do a few things.
首先，它告知大众有一件产品的存在（无伤大雅，对吗？）接着，它旨在建立品牌辨识度――我们作为消费者，希望信得过认得出我们用的产品。第三，广告创造生活方式认同感。 这个产品有点“像你”；它表现了你某些东西；你会认同该产品和它的其它消费者。广告界耗费巨资和大量时间指定策略，就是为了实现这三个目标。
First, it informs the public of a product's existence (no harm in that, right?). Next, it is meant to build brand recognition—as consumers, we want to trust and recognize the names behind our products. Third, advertising creates lifestyle identification. The product is somehow "like you"; it says something about you; you can relate to the product and its other consumers. The world of advertising spends a lot of money and time developing strategies to accomplish these three goals.
首先，我们会看该产品头头是道的说服力，或者关于它的事实阐述。这种技巧本身并无大碍。没有资讯，我们成不了心中有数的消费者。不过，我劝你对即便是直截了当的广告也要存有戒心。纯粹曝光率是给公众留下长久印象的有效工具。你有了辨识度打底，就会选这件而不要那件，有时还是付更高的价钱。连你自己都会因此而愕然。
We will first look at logical persuasion, or the exposition of facts about products. This technique in itself is quite harmless. We cannot be informed consumers without information. Yet, I urge you to be skeptical of even the most straightforward advertising. Mere exposure is an effective tool in leaving lasting impressions on the public. With your only basis as recognition, you would be surprised to see how quickly you choose one product over another, even at a higher cost.
非理性影响策略可能更危险。它的广告通过表现一种与产品本身毫不搭界的有趣或愉快情境来躲开消费者的自觉意识。在这种情境下，有效的调节让你与具体的产品产生积极的认同。例如：一则广告可能会闪出鲜花，阳光，小狗的画面；即便是多年以后，你看到该产品时，你的潜意识依然会唤起这些“感觉良好”的画面。现代心理学发现这种广告降低脑力活动，让消费者更少顾忌。根据该项研究，当你会把劣质产品与良好感觉联系起来的时候，你购买这个劣质产品的几率高达70-80％。
Perhaps more dangerous is the strategy of nonrational influence, in which advertising schemes circumvent consumers' conscious awareness by depicting a fun or pleasant scene quite unrelated to the product itself. Here, affective conditioning allows you to associate positive feelings with specific products. For instance, a commercial might flash images of colorful flowers, sunshine, puppies, etc.; and even years later, your subconscious will recall these "feel good" images when you spot that product. Psychology Today found that this type of advertising lowers brain activity and causes less restraint in the consumer. According to the study, you are 70—80% more likely to buy an inferior product when you have paired it with positive feelings.
警觉的消费者们请记住：在一个扭曲变形假象丛生的世界里，要小心行事。
Just remember, my wary consumer, to use caution in a society of distortion and illusion.
广告会很微妙而强劲。请三思。
Advertising can be subtle, but powerful. And think again.
（后记：消费主义本身并不可恶。消费是生命循环的重要一环。可恶的是过度的消费主义excessive consumerism ，即已经不是满足生存本身需求的额外消费。它以牺牲其它生命资源为代价来提高人类的所谓幸福感，破坏了宇宙既定的轮回循环原则，最终会有不祥的报应。那才是真正之“殤”。)
