That Advert Might Be Lying To You

Are those you’re listening to walking the talk?

Steve Jobs led the Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad into being. Yet Walter Isaacson (his biographer) cites Steve’s home to be relatively tech-free, without a device in sight at the dinner table, for instance. It doesn’t mean the tech is bad, but it does mean he acknowledged the need for self-discipline.

Internet gurus make bold claims in Facebook Ads about their fortunes and secrets they’ll reveal to you for $97. Yet almost all of them disappear from our newsfeeds when their lies don’t cover their costs anymore. It doesn’t mean all advertisers are liars, but it does mean we must look for evidence of walking the talk.

Natural wellness brands advertise their calm, relaxing serums and oils to ensure you operate in a perpetual state of tranquility. Yet many of them lead frenetic, stressed-out, volatile lives behind a facade of peace. It doesn’t mean all businesses fail at that which they claim to solve, but it does mean we must look for evidence of walking the talk.

My team and I know the importance of ethically empathizing with – and articulating – the narrative at play in the marketplace. But we owe it to ourselves as consumers to trade only with honest voices, and we owe it to the market to reward those brave enough to be honest with our trade.