I love this piece! It’s so resonates. But I would argue that Pottasch’s thoughts on promoting a product through a user’s wish of what they could be or their perception of who they are came from his study of Edward Bernays. His Torches of Freedom campaign forever cemented the idea that women who wanted equality smoke cigarettes!

Bernays pioneered the idea that products weren’t just things but they were embodiments of who we are. He did so horrifically in my opinion and offers a cautionary counterpoint to the idea that people don’t buy products they buy better versions of themselves. People will buy anything that allows them to escape themselves as well.