529 ways to redo your look!

We’ve all been drawn in by the glossy sheen of magazines with intoxicating perfume samples and scandalous celebrity gossip. (The Biebs cut his hair? GASP!) But when reading “articles” that promise an impossibly large number of ways to get the perfect body or create a pretty spring wardrobe, what are we actually reading? That’s right --product placement.


387 ways to get the perfect hair is code for 387 products to buy for your hair. How do I revitalize my wardrobe? Buy new clothes! Buy, buy, buy (no, not the N’Sync song) is the underlying message in most magazines. And not any old brand brand, just the fashionable names handpicked by the experts of your favorite publication. Before you know it, the entire shining beacon of self-help transforms into a giant advertisement. And the worst part of these covert ads is that they don’t even come with a perfume sample.