Modern Marketing Thinks We’re Stupid. And Maybe We Are…

I heard an ad the other day that started with: “Here’s what no one is telling you about our product,” then they spit out a list of made-up words for product features, rapid-fire, like they mean something. That’s right, they proudly admitted they’ve kept secrets from us. Until now, apparently.

So, either they’ve been sitting around going, “Gee golly, guys! We’ve made forty-five ads and somehow forgot to actually market the thing…” Or they’re lying. And if they’re lying to us in the very first sentence, what else might they be lying about?

Not exactly a masterclass in earning the trust of potential customers.

Modern marketing has become a joke, pretending to expose itself. Fake authenticity. Scripted transparency. An illusion of honesty for maximum click-through. They talk like they’re our best friend who wants to be ‘real for a sec.’

“Hey, we’re not like other companies. We’re different. We’re human.”

No. They’re not. Money-hungry vampires, maybe.

It’s wild how many marketers think pseudo-honesty is a tactic rather than a baseline. And the irony is that the people writing these ads are smart. They're playing a numbers game. They've decided that a customer who values honesty is just collateral damage. It’s a low-effort filter designed to catch the impulsive, while actively repelling anyone who's actually paying attention.

If the first sentence is a lie, even a cute, clever little “harmless” one, they’ve already told me how much they value my intelligence. I think I’ll spend my money elsewhere. But I guess that’s what no one is telling me about honesty… It doesn’t convert.