How does that work?

HaleyRocks

HaleyRocks

Farmer
In many cases, i see a product (edible or potable mostly) which is well known, meticulously advertised, usually a big company ships it worldwide and even backwater ruins offer it...

Yet, whenever i try the item in question, most of the times it is of garbage quality, leading me to flirt with the idea of throwing it away before even finishing it.

All this while, i sit down to make a research, track down hard to find hidden gems, that pretty much next to nobody knows or cares to import, i have a pretty hard time locating even in the biggest stores/marts at any given locale (including specialized or "premium" ones), but whenever i actually manage to get a hold of the stuff and try it, almost always end up mindblown!

How can something become mainstream, so well established, to the point that everyone knows of and uses it, while being trash? And nobody searches for alternatives, something better to compare it against, or simply care for that matter; but they gladly pay any price the stores might charge (usually inflated, due to it being well known) and consume disgusting stuff, while thinking it hits the spot right there?

I could name any number of examples, but to keep it short and simple, i will narrow it down to iconic examples:

1) Mac Donalds <-> random unknown streetside eatery with high quality ingredients, more bang for the buck and authentic flavors
2) Most alcoholic drinks (ex captain morgan, zacapa, or bacardi rum) <-> Legit Bajan (Barbados) and authentic Jamaican rums without added sweetener or other additives thrown in
3) Soft drinks like Schweppes <-> Three Cents or Fever Tree

Bonus question: Do people not get irritated by ads and skip them like the plague? How does an overadvertized product be so "convincing", or seem to be so "enticing"? And whatever happened to that short moment of realization, that the stuff you receive was falsely advertized (not as big, as good, as cheep or any other parameter matching, to those presented in the ad spot)?
 
DOBITEUS

DOBITEUS

Planter
I'll try to answer with the things I've been seen and make an own opinion.

Hypernormalisation; defined as "a condition in which a false or surreal version of reality becomes so pervasive and accepted that it is treated as normal, even by those who know it is not", "a state where everyone knows that the systems underpinning society are crumbling, yet pretend that they're not".I think everyone knows that McDonalds aren't really good, but you can find them almost anywhere, that's what have been eating for a while, unconsciously we've been eating all their ads that when people things about food, McDonalds is the first thing that comes to your mind, you see many people eating their stuff, it seems that the easiest option was always them, biologically we "want", our brains, our bodies, to not waste a lot of energy and resources to make things, so it was always easy do what others do, or just not waste energy on finding good stuff.

Hypernormalisation applies almost for everything I think; we've been doing stuff for a long time, that we can't think in another options or ways to make the same things, we know everything it's bad, but we can come with an alternative, so we just accept it, normalize it. Like here in my country, why we still vote for the same scum that we know that is not reliable? Because we don't have an alternative. Yeah, the hamburgers that they sell across the street are better, but that business doesn't have the resources to compete against the big ones and bring its product to others, that's why always supporting local businesses it's the key to keep a "healthy" society... but it's always hard to go with "the alternative" when everybody supports the big ones, just by the same normalization.

Yeah, I hate ADS, if I want something, I'll do the necessary research to get the best option, something that is worth my money, because it's REALLY HARD to earn it; but that's me and some others, not the majority, maybe for a lack of self consciousness, education, or because it implies "effort", I dunno, things are really complex.

The only thing we can do is keep "smart shopping"? and encourage others to do the same, critical thinking and "common" sense ladies and gentlemen, but as we say; it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.
 
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