Top 10 ICONIC Things You Didn’t Know Were Designed for ADVERTISING

We’re all proud of our culture. From music, to food, we think of it as a part of us. We consider it our national or human identity. We enjoy knowing that our own preferences and choices helped create a unique country or region. However, many of the iconic things that we know or take part in today were not started due to simple cultural osmosis. Instead, they were shaped by marketing campaigns by extremely clever advertisers. In many ways, advertisers have managed to change the world without people even catching on.

Entertaining and educational top 10 lists from TopTenzNet!

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Top 10 Surprising Facts About Fast Food

Top 10 Hilarious Banned Commercials

Coming up:

10. The Hollywood Sign was Originally a Real Estate Ad
9. The “Traditional” American Breakfast was Designed to Sell Bacon
8. Gendered Clothing Colors are Due to Clothing Advertisements
7. Sweetest Day Was Invented by Big Candy in Order to Drive Up Sales
6. The Need for Deodorant was Actually Taught to People by Advertising
5. “Size Matters” because Advertising (and Porn) Says So
4. Baumgartner’s Leap was Essentially a Giant Red Bull Ad
3. The Recent Surge in Body Acceptance for Women was Started by Dove
2. Basically Everything You Believe About Jewelry
1. The Difference Between “Rich” and “Poor” People Food

Source/Further reading:

[EddyGurge]

I've been an American for over half a century, lived on both coasts and in the middle. I've never heard of Sweetest Day.

[doktorscam]

Seriously...never heard of Sweetest day...its not a thing around here and I'm from the US

[OneColdMonkey]

I just wanted to add to the chorus of 'I'm an American and wtf is 'sweetest day' and why would they make it the same month as the biggest candy holiday of the year?"

[teemusid]

I say we start "Bitterness Day;" you buy lemons to give to people you don't like.

[Vincent_Beers]

40+ years living in the US, have lived on all 3 coasts and many places in the middle. Never once heard anyone talk about or even advertise "Sweetest Day"

Just googled it, there's a list of 10 states where it's supposedly popular. I've lived or visited about half of those and still never heard of it. I'd call that a failed promotion.

[Boobalopbop]

I've never heard of Sweetest Day... Why have a candy Holliday the same month as Halloween?

[DrewberTravels]

One, I have never heard of Sweetest day.

Two, It was completely obvious that the whole Stratosphere jump thing was sponsored by Redbull.

[myrmepropagandist]

The body acceptance movement was not started by Dove. They co-opted it and did a poor job of it as well.

[Tyggs]

my wife probably wouldn't have married me if I'd been so irresponsible with my money ad to spend 3 months pay on her engagement ring. she even thinks the 1 week's pay I spent was too much.

[unncommonsense]

Along the same lines as the lobster, chicken wings were dirt cheap 30 years ago until someone in Buffalo had the brilliant idea to slather them in hot sauce. Now we pay more.

[gunslingingbird]

I fondly remember the days when you could watch a video on YouTube without it being randomly interrupted by annoying ads. 😡😠

[JonBlower]

Simon; "It was put up in the 1930's"
Words on screen; "a sign is born... 1923"

[Stephanie_Vincent]

Body Posi was a huge movement before Dove came out. I still remember everyone complaining about how Dove co-opted our message for ad purposes. Your assertion that Dove started it is ABSURD.

[brittneystreeter]

Never in my life up until now heard about sweetest day!? Wtf!? 😂

[stevenwoyach]

Buying candy on sweetest day is not an "important tradition." Nobody in the US has even heard about it, ever. Even looked it up on Wikipedia, who claimed that 10 states celebrate it. I even lived in Illinois for a year, which Wikipedia claims is one of the observing states, and I never heard of it there either.

[sylvibara]

I'm American, I've lived here my entire life, and I have never heard of Sweetest Day.

[dianeridley]

Hey-- they forgot Coca-Cola and Santa Claus

[octavioquartio]

The pink-blue thing is much more complicated. Already in the 18th century pink was associated with girls, in particular Madame de Pompadour and later Lady Hamilton. It was also frequently used by the French painter Fragonard for care-free girls. Blue, on the other hand, got associated with the new police uniforms by Sir Robert Peel and in certain formal wear in early Victorian times. Before the blue-pink dichotomy, most children wore white. The magazine in question, DressMaker, was according to psychologist Marco del Guidice one of few who had it that way - the other way was more common. Pink for girls really took off in the 1950s as both First Lady Eisenhower and Marilyn Monroe were associated with said colour.

[plrplr]

I proposed to my now wife with an Irish Claddagh ring with both our birthstones in it (Ruby and an Emerald). Both stones were appropriate in size for the ring so it was classic rather than flashy "Bling". She was afraid I was going to get a diamond ring because she thinks the whole diamond thing is so overblown and really doesn't care for them as she sees it as "everyone does that so why is it so special then?". Even our wedding bands are sterling silver and have an Irish saying on them. They cost a whopping $125 for both with shipping from Ireland. I'm very happy I found someone who would rather spend on our enjoyment together rather than look at a rock a volcano spit out and equate that to how much she is loved by you.

[willisverynice]

Born and raised in America, never heard of Sweetest Day.