TIL that only 7 companies in the world control almost every single beauty product you buy. These 7 conglomerates own around 182 brands across the globe. They also are responsible for advertising and the way we think about beauty.

I don't believe you.

On the other hand, i currently work at of the firms listed (in men's grooming) and I can tell you 100% beyond a shadow of a doubt that we (including me, personally, in the room) spend a significant amount of time thinking about how to craft our advertising to influence the direction of public consensus on grooming and beauty.

Yes, there is a significant amount of data driven advertising that we do to reinforce our brands in the market, but we also put a lot of effort into shaping and steering the public consensus of beauty and grooming to either push it towards one of our products, or push it into greenfield space where we can create new market (and share).

which basically means universal human truths, and these are the core from which the idea comes from. They don't create that truth so much as find it.

This statement reads like something a behavioral "scientist" might say. I knew a VP who used to speak like this... he was forcibly retired last year to free up budget to hire more data scientists.

Everyone, please ignore the guy talking out his ass above me.

/r/todayilearned Thread Parent Link - thisisinsider.com