>But somehow, when it's time to buy a jacket, you know about the brand, and know all the people in your socioeconomic circle seem to like it. //
Yes, but it's not usually a conscious thing. People assume that advertising doesn't affect them -- it does, it's brainwashing.
However, I've recently found that I'm so eager not to be swayed by advertising that I can't buy things I've consciously seen advertised at me because then `they` will have won. Of course I still pick out the fizzy drink brand advertised to me when I don't want to engage my brain over a triviality like picking a cold drink at work ...
Yes, but it's not usually a conscious thing. People assume that advertising doesn't affect them -- it does, it's brainwashing.
However, I've recently found that I'm so eager not to be swayed by advertising that I can't buy things I've consciously seen advertised at me because then `they` will have won. Of course I still pick out the fizzy drink brand advertised to me when I don't want to engage my brain over a triviality like picking a cold drink at work ...