Everyone likes to think their beliefs are rooted in common sense or personal experience, but many of them were carefully planted. For over a century, corporations, governments, and industries have shaped public opinion with slogans, campaigns, and subtle messaging designed to sell products or win support.
What starts as a clever ad or political spin often becomes “truth” when repeated often enough. Over time, these narratives harden into cultural wisdom, taught to us by our families, reinforced in schools, and echoed in media.
Much of what we are told isn’t a fact at all, but the residue of years of propaganda and marketing and once you start to notice the patterns, it’s hard not to question everything you’ve been told.
1
Shiny shampoo means clean
Shampoo ads cultivated a notion that daily washing, and the associated stripping of oils, was necessary, ensuring repeat sales.
2
Shopping brings happiness
Post-WWII advertising linked consumerism to fulfillment and the “American Dream.”
3
War equals patriotism & freedom
Governments used WWI and WWII posters, radio, and film to frame wars as noble moral essentials.
4
You need to drink orange juice at breakfast
1920s citrus growers funded medical endorsements to market orange juice as essential breakfast fare.
5
Valentine's Day
Early 20th-century greeting-card and flower companies promoted gift-giving as essential to love.
6
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day
Elevated by Kellogg’s and cereal companies in the late 19th century to boost product consumption.
7
You have to drink milk everyday
Heavily promoted through mid-20th-century U.S. dairy campaigns and government subsidies, despite widespread lactose intolerance.
8
Spinach makes you stronger
A 19th-century typo exaggerated spinach’s iron content, and Popeye cartoons later turned it into a “superfood” myth.
9
The food pyramid is the ideal diet
The 1992 U.S. food pyramid was heavily influenced by the grain and dairy industries, prioritizing their products over balanced nutrition.
10
Diamonds are forever
De Beers’ 1947 ad campaign coined the phrase and manufactured the idea that diamonds are rare, eternal, and the only symbol of true love.
11
Smoking is cool (or even doctor-approved)
Early-to-mid 20th-century cigarette ads featured doctors and celebrities endorsing smoking.
12
McDonald’s coffee lawsuit was frivolous
In 1992, a woman suffered severe burns and sued only after McD refused medical costs. The court ruled against McD, but their PR spin turned it into the “frivolous lawsuit” myth still repeated today.
13
Santa wears red
Coca-Cola’s 1930s holiday ads standardized Santa’s red-and-white attire worldwide.
14
Sugar gives you energy
Candy and soda companies in the 20th century marketed sugar as a quick energy boost.
15
You need 8 glasses of water a day
Based on a misinterpreted military hydration guideline and reinforced by bottled water marketing.
