Okay, I read this quote on Substack by Aldous Huxley from his book of essays - Ends and Means. 

“Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities.” 

Is there a subtextual advertising agenda here? Ah shit, yes. It is. 

Advertising’s inception dates back to 3000 B.C. in Thebes, Egypt. It was a Papyrus (paper made from the stems of the papyrus plant, used in ancient Egypt for writing) discovered among ruins which was both a lost and found piece and advertising piece for a weaving shop. 

And ever since the advertising pursuit has always been to help you and I find something not what we need but what we want. 

Need gives you satisfaction, want gives you happiness, temporarily. In advertising term, 

Need is water, Want is diet coke. 

Advertising is catering to these unaddressed, not thought of wants of human beings and pampering it constantly, until we give in because we are told that it is where THE happiness lies. 

Sadly though, the happiness is short lived, in scientific terms, it is a dopamine spike that the brain experiences, creating a false narrative of happiness. So we fill our lives with daily, micro moments of consumerism to capture “happiness”. 

This “by-product of other activities” that Aldous talks about is where advertising opportunities lie. 

In other news, today is the last day of the Prime day sale. How many times have you opened the app in the past 2 days to buy some happiness for yourself?

- KB