Challenge: Give no money to anyone who pays for advertising

[Krum312]

It makes sense that a company that pays for advertising is probably more interested in your money than improving the quality of their product. I believe small businesses are wonderful at putting their profit into their product. I think this is very related to the fact that small business owners enjoy what they are doing.

I have been practicing this for years. I typically don't purchase anything new from a store other than food, beverages and fuel. I enjoy giving my money to people who have appreciated the things they are selling. When I purchase something from craigslist, the seller has used free advertising. The only other free advertisements I can think would be from word of mouth thanks to a quality product.

I am still fuel dependent. I have never tried to choose my fuel based on who advertises.

A brand new grocery store open up a flew blocks from my home over the summer. Sprouts is amazing, and they don't carry many named brand products. Most of them are local that I have never seen an advertisement.

I believe by not giving money to a company that pays for advertising, you will not only save money, but also have more quality products.
The term product sounds so UnMustachian. I do not purchase products. I make investment that I enjoy and put to use, and then sell them as products for profit to those who do not understand the Mustachian way.

Products can certainly have different meanings. You might get a better meal or beverage if your were to go to an independent restaurant or bar. You might get a more refreshing beverage from a micro brew. You might have a more enjoyable experience when you meet the owner of the business you are supporting.

I am new to the community. I could not found a similar challenge.

[arebelspy]

It's an interesting challenge, but I see several problems.

Every grocery store near me, including the smaller local ones, do circular ads with coupons. 

You never shop online (say, at Amazon) or at any big box store (Costco, Target, whatever)?

You don't own a cell phone?  Computer?  Car?

Where do you buy your clothes?

If the idea is to not give money based on advertisements, ala this:

I have never tried to choose my fuel based on who advertises.

Sure, I think we're all on board with that.

But I just don't see how you can not support a company that advertises, because they all do.

I'd also dispute the notion that they do it just to scam you from your money - they very well may be just trying to get the word out about their awesome product.

Like I said, interesting idea, just not sure it's feasible in the U.S.  Other countries that have less ads, sure.

Welcome to the forums, and please don't let my devil's advocate discourage you!  :)

[Frankies Girl]

Sprouts advertizes on television and radio in my area. They are a chain of supermarkets that are throughout the Southwest and still expanding, so you better believe they're advertising as they move into new locations. ;)

Even the small mom-and-pop shops advertise. They'd go out of business pretty fast if potential customers didn't know they existed. Hoping that someone will stumble across them by accident and depending on word of mouth is a very poor way of keeping the doors open.

I work in a branch of advertising & marketing technically, so I do understand the mechanics behind advertising for the most part. The thing to start examining is the way businesses advertise. If they are promoting a pure gimmick or marketing scam to increase the perceived awesomeness of their product and allow them to get more of your money for something that you don't need and technically wouldn't have wanted until they told you how you are missing out - the Le Vian "chocolate" diamonds marketing campaign, or hey, the whole diamond industry for example - then it would make sense to avoid them, but there is always going to be regular advertising to get the word out about a store, offering coupons and discounts for something you'd already buy, and seeing a sign or hearing an advertisement that will help you find places that are more convenient to your location and needs... that's straight-up advertising.

I personally try to shop at places that advertise honestly and aren't resorting to marketing gimmicks to increase perceived "need" of their products. But then I generally don't care what advertising tells me I need to buy to be happy, in style or otherwise "change my life" since I know it's all puffery.

And when possible, I shop small/independent businesses. :)

[Integrate]

You can make the argument that advertising is like the Prisoner's Dilemma in game theory.

For those unfamiliar with the Prisoner's Dilemma, consider the following. Two prisoners being interrogated in separate rooms. If neither talks, they're in jail until the case gets dismissed, say 1 month. If one talks and the other doesn't, he gets off for free and the other guy goes to jail for 5 years. If both talk, they both go to jail for 3 years (deduction for being cooperative).

Clearly, they'd both be better off not talking, but each has an incentive to talk. They get less jail time if the other doesn't talk, and they get less jail time if the other does talk too.

Advertising is like this. If no one advertised, word of mouth would take care of it and companies would have no expenditure. If one company starts advertising, they take other companies business. The other companies response is to advertise too. We're now at the outcome where both are making less profits due to spending on advertising, but both have acted rationally.

There's nothing wrong with a company choosing to advertise. In fact I think a lot of mom and pop places would need to in order to earn a living. If they're running the business as a hobby income, that's another story. If they are selling a product to consumers, they'd be a bit crazy to put themselves at a disadvantage to big chains.

Society has many inefficiencies due to lack of perfect information. Advertising is just one of them. It's annoying, but I don't think it's a good basis to eliminate doing business with a company.

[Paul der Krake]

A more realistic approach would be to exclude only brands whose advertising reaches a certain prominence.

Examples of different levels of advertising, by order of ascending prominence:
- in the local local newspaper
- full page in a local newspaper
- heard on the radio
- local tv station
- sponsors a whole segment on a national radio ("brought to you by" on NPR stations)
- namedropped by talking heads on national tv
- minute-long ad during the Super Bowl

[Krum312]

I understand this challenge may be unreasonable or unrealistic.

I have a hard time remember giving money because of an advertisement.

My vice is once in a lifetime experiences. I think the last time my money was spent on an experience that advertised on the radio was for a Colorado Rising Flood Relief Benefit concert. In this case I believe most of my money went to a good cause. The bands The Fray, The Lumineers, and Big Head Todd and the Monsters were all local, supporting their community. Dave Matthews flew in on his own dime to support the community.

I can not live without a laptop, but I will not spend more than $150 on a used laptop. I bought a Dell about a year and a half ago for $130 and sold it a few months ago for $100. While Dell does pay for advertising, none of my money went to supporting their company.

I have never heard a commercial for Sprouts, but I only shop their because it is local and convenient. My purchases are not based on advertisements.

I do not watch tv, but I recently pick up a used tv on craigslist for $100 for playoff baseball. I am from St. Louis, a town built on beer and baseball. After the playoffs, I sold the tv for $180. I find most tv commercials more comical than helpful. Should I seek out other forms of helpful advertisements?

I do not doubt that small businesses who pay for advertisements have great products and services. I prefer to keep my money local, and give it a better chance of going to people rather than corporations, CEOs, and shareholders.

I do give an exception to eBay and Amazon because they help me with supplemental income. I haven't had much success with Amazon, but that just means I need to work harder. I am also working on selling on my own website for more freedom as well as avoiding fees associated with selling on eBay and Amazon.

I am about ready to give up on Pandora radio because I am so sick of their ads they run. Their ads make me not want to purchase anything they are selling.

Maybe I need to rephrase the challenge. I feel like this strategy has saved me so much money over the years. Maybe I have missed out by ignoring or avoiding advertisements.

[Krum312]

So call  me old fashioned. This is my first forum experience. I seem to have trouble meeting people who enjoy the frugal Mustachian lifestyle. I have always enjoyed an active lifestyle, and while typing on the computer is not as active as running through the park, typing in a forum is more active than just reading.

Certainly not everyone in the forum is a shareholder. At least not since I joined.

I don't know that I have made purchases because of a friend or family's financial investment in a company.

A small business owner certainly has a more active investment than a shareholder. I mentioned that I like keeping my money local, supporting the community that supports me.

These forums have given me valuable information. I know I can learn more by actively participating.

[arebelspy]

Cool, well welcome.

I think we're all on board with your idea of not letting advertisements influence our purchases (to what extend that's possible).

[Krum312]

Well since I do not have an IRA, 401k, 403b or 457 plan, I am certainly not a shareholder. Maybe I am the only one here.
 
More importantly, I do not understand what this has to do with my original post.
Do you advertise or tell people to make certain purchases based on what companies you have invested in?


I enjoy saving money by not giving any to a business because of a paid advertisement.
It may not be a challenging strategy, but I find it rewarding.

[arebelspy]

Well since I do not have an IRA, 401k, 403b or 457 plan, I am certainly not a shareholder. Maybe I am the only one here.

Do you invest any money in anything?

More importantly, I do not understand what this has to do with my original post.
Do you advertise or tell people to make certain purchases based on what companies you have invested in?

No, I think their point was that most of us hold ownership in these companies that are advertising (though obviously a very small percentage, and have no real say in their activities), which is potentially as problematic ethically as shopping at a place that advertises, but it doesn't bother most of us.

[Undecided]

A more realistic approach would be to exclude only brands whose advertising reaches a certain prominence.

Examples of different levels of advertising, by order of ascending prominence:

- minute-long ad during the Super Bowl

There's something appealing about this, in a wacky way. I don't watch the Super Bowl, but it seems easy to find purportedly complete lists of the ads that run during the game.  E.g., http://www.nola.com/superbowl/index.ssf/2013/02/super_bowl_2013_commercials_th.html
I have definitely bought milk this year, but otherwise I think I'm clear, although my older son had M&Ms among his Halloween haul, and I could see him requesting more.

[brand new stash]

I don't understand this approach at all.  I understand wanting to support small businesses, but almost all, if not all, small business advertise.  Actually, I can't think of a single thing that I've bought from a company that doesn't advertise.

Even when my kids had a lemonade stand this summer they advertised it.  They had a sign in front of the stand and a sign at the end of the street pointing towards it.   Not exactly a super bowl ad, but still a basic advertisement.