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Republicans mostly silent as millions of Americans protest Trump on No Kings day
(www.theguardian.com)
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this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2025
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politics
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How is it terrible for changing minds?
If it's terrible for changing minds, why is there so much money invested into advertising using it?
Are these massive professional companies ignorant to something and like wasting billions on useless tactics?
They aren't changing minds. They're reinforcing and radicalizing the beliefs of people who are already in the bubble they're in. And it's far from useless!
Try to think back to the last time you saw an ad that was (1) actually directed at you, and (2) trying to change your mind. I can't tell you the answer for me, because I never see ads like that. Harris ran her campaign on that last fall, and it failed; partially because people have been lied to through screens often enough that they tend to only believe things that screens say when they're saying stuff they already believe.
As you already know, we'll do all sorts of mental gymnastics to make new facts fit with old opinions, probably because there was some kind of evolutionary advantage. The fact is, most people have already made up their minds. Changing those minds is hard, because people have a visceral reaction to facts, ideas, and opinions that go against their pre-existing beliefs—just like what's happening to you right now. It can be stronger or weaker depending on how important the belief is, but in either case, the only time we're likely to change our minds is in person; again, probably due to some evolutionary advantage (pack bonding, maybe?). Not online, not via broadcast, but in person; usually in small groups or even one-on-one (I've seen some evidence, though I can't find a link, that voice and video calls—but not text messages—are almost as effective as in-person discussion).
Protests gain momentum when more people change their minds, and people change their minds when the people they know and trust and respect go to protests. It's not the only way that fascists are overthrown, but it is definitely the least-bloody way.
You didn't answer my question at all. Why do companies and celebrities and people who are powerful and who have access to the best and brightest minds pay so much for an online presence?
Ads work. Majority of them you don't even realize are ads. But they work. People like you on the left are so oblivious to this stuff. I don't get it. It's so obvious and you all just keep refusing to see the answers right in front of your faces.
I did. You didn't read it, apparently, but I did.
To wit:
"They aren't changing minds. They're reinforcing and radicalizing the beliefs of people who are already in the bubble they're in. And it's far from useless!"
Literally the first paragraph in my response. They're paying for ads in order to reinforce and radicalize and mobilize people to act in accordance with the advertiser's desires.
Of course they work, but they don't do what you think they're doing. They don't convince people to change their minds, they convince people to act: to buy, or vote, or be more strident in accordance with the beliefs the advertiser already knows they have.
The ads you see are carefully crafted to appeal to people who believe what you believe. That's why pro-Trump ads in red areas didn't say "here's why you shouldn't vote for Harris," they said "you already know Harris is a bad choice, and here's why you should make sure to go vote." It's a distinction so subtle that most people don't notice it and think that the ads really are trying to change their minds, but that's not how it works.
I started my career in marketing, I know how campaigns are put together. The discussions aren't about how to make a group of people believe a thing, they're about how to frame the conversation so that the people who already believe something act on that belief in a way that benefits the advertiser. So you get ads like, "you care about your dog, so make sure you feed them Dogfood Xyz." You don't get ads that say "here's why you should care about your dog," because the people who already care about their dog don't need to be convinced, and the people who don't have a dog won't listen anyway.
How do you get people to care about a dog? You take them to a humane society shelter in person and introduce them to a dog.
Paternalistic nonsense. Oh wise and great guru, please bestow upon me thy wisdom.
Also, bringing my political affiliation into this is laughable. I knew all of this back when I was an angry conservative, too. And what changed my mind to make me more progressive? Meeting people who weren't like me.
The conservative urge to say "the truth is right in front of your face, stupid sheeple!" "Oh, this thing that I believe and have had reinforced to me by people who directly benefit financially from that belief is actually really obvious, duh!"
If it's so obvious, then surely you have evidence for me. Right? No? All the evidence is in my favor? Huh, how 'bout that. See, you can't convince people of reality online. Exhibit A: this conversation.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/11/advertising-industry-fuelling-climate-disaster-consumption
So not sure what your experience is in marketing but in my experience and from research I've looked into, it isn't just convincing people what they already know. It works to change views through repetitive messaging.
So to sum up. I think you're wrong. I think the left is wrong because they feel like you do and are really missing something that the right have accepted for a long time. They're playing chess and the left don't even understand they're even playing a game.
Thanks for posting a link! I'll take a look. Hope you'll take a look at mine.