(upbeat music) - [Narrator] In the
consumer-focused society we live in, it seems you can't even walk out the door without spending $20 on God knows what. That's because big companies know exactly how to manipulate
us into parting ways with our hard-earned cash, and often we don't
realize they're doing it. From the subtle to the shameful, let's take a look at some
of the sneakiest ways you're secretly being
tricked by companies. (upbeat music)
(lightning striking) (upbeat music)
Worthless wait. They say patience is a virtue. Even so there's nothing more boring than waiting around for something. Surely no company would
make us wait for something if they could give it to us
straight away, then, right? Wrong. A few years ago, social
media giant Facebook rolled out a security checkup. Users who logged in were greeted by a little robotic doctor telling them their account was being
checked for security issues. The check ran for about 10 seconds. Only, the Facebook servers
are far faster than this and actually completed the
check in less than one second. The thing is we inherently
mistrust a process if it takes a very short amount of time. I mean, you'd be suspicious if I told you I did all the research for this video in five
minutes, wouldn't you? So Facebook and other
companies purposefully inflate the waiting times of certain processes to, ironically, build
people's trust in them. Damn, and there's more. In situations where there really is a genuine reason for us to wait, like when our phones are updating, there's always a progress
bar, isn't there? Companies know that
without this small feature, we'd be up in arms, but the
bars aren't even accurate. Install times vary
depending on phone model. So manufacturers devise
progress animations that reflect the average
install time instead. That's why sometimes
they'll speed through 99% in three minutes just to get stuck at the end for five hours. Well, I've known riots
that have started for less. (air whooshing) Vanity sizing. We've all been there. You find a new pair of
pants that you love, only to try them on and rapidly
realize they're too tight. It's not a good feeling, and it only gets worse when you have to fish around for the next couple of sizes up. In fact, studies show that
after an experience like this, we're less likely to
buy, even if we do find the right-sized pants because
we're in a worse mood. Clothing companies know this and have a supremely sneaky tactic to make sure it happens as little as possible. They keep their clothing
physically the same but crucially make the
sizing charts smaller. Back in 1937, Sears sold dresses with a 32-inch bust at size 14s but by 1967, it was a size eight. Fast forward to today, and that same 32-inch bust is a size zero. This smaller size is designed
to make you feel better about yourself when you try it on, so you're more likely to buy it. It wasn't always this way though. In the US, clothes sizing
used to be standardized. In 1983, however, the rule was abandoned. Since then, stores have
used their own sizing charts and most have opted to label everything significantly smaller than it used to be, which is a phenomenon
called vanity sizing. A better name for it
might be insanity sizing, considering the insane level
of manipulation on show here. You know what would be
really insane though? (air whooshing)
Not hitting those like (metal smacking)
and subscribe buttons. I post exciting new
content almost every day, and I've got some real treats coming up that you don't wanna miss. All done? Okay, where were we? (air whooshing) Alluring layouts. Shopping malls have been a popular part of consumer culture
since they first appeared in the US back in the
1950s, but did you know they're designed very specifically to milk as much money as possible from you? The first mall architect, Victor Gruen, was a master of commercial design. He knew that in order
to buy more, customers had to spend more time
in the retail space. So his malls were designed
with intentionally confusing layouts, filled with all sorts of interesting sites,
smells and other stimuli. The sensory overload and
odd layout made you forget your original intention
and you become more likely to buy things you hadn't come for, a concept called "the Groen transfer," and it doesn't just apply to malls. It's used to varying
degrees in pretty much every store you go to. Ever notice how there's rarely any windows or clocks in grocery stores? That's another example of
the Gruen transfer in action. Being aware of the time pulls you out of the shopping experience, which is the last thing shop owners want. So anything reminding
you of it is removed. To further maximize the
time you spend in store, companies regularly
change the layouts too. If we know where something is, we'll usually make a beeline for that item, grab it and leave, but if the store layout
changes, and we're unsure, we're forced to spend more time checking through the aisles we
wouldn't otherwise walk down. In other words, more potential purchases. I don't know about Gruen, but it's definitely
enough to make me groan. (air whooshing) Anthropomorphic antics. Can you guess what links food, cleaning products and insurance? That's right, friendly humanoid mascots. The reason? Well it's all to do with
a basic human psychology. As humans, we find it easier
to connect with things if we humanize them or
anthropomorphize them, if you wanna be fancy. It's why we give names to our cars and other items that are precious to us. Humanizing things also
lends us control over them. When a car starts fine, it's just a car, but when it fails, we get angry at it and blame it like it's
alive, or at least I do. Anyway, anthropomorphizing
makes us feel better. It's very easy to do as well. Just sticking a simple face
on something is often enough to do the trick, and we don't just connect with things more when we
anthropomorphize them. We trust them more too. Companies use this to
their full advantage. Google, for example, designed
their self-driving car with face-like features to calm down anyone nervous about getting in it. Can you see it? Well, I've got to say
the adorable little eyes and nose on this thing
does make me like it more. So a product with a friendly
mascot humanizes it, evoking positive emotions and leading to a better overall view
of the product itself. Think about Tony the tiger, the M&M candies and the Kool-Aid man. None of the brands associated
with those would've been as successful without
their iconic mascots, and now think about this. Every one of them was created
to take advantage of kids. Those friendly characters,
just another way of gaining children's loyalty
and lining the pockets of the companies that designed them. I mean, just look at this guy. He's only this smug because
he's made off with your moolah. Suddenly, I'm not feeling so great. (air whooshing) Shrinking snacks. Inflation makes pretty much
everything more expensive. However, the price of some store products remain suspiciously
stable, ever wondered why? Well, in response to
inflation, some companies opt to avoid raising prices
and instead subtly reduce the amount of actual product you get, something called shrinkflation. This is because people
pay much more attention to the price of things
than they do to their size, and even if we do notice
the size difference, we'd still rather buy a smaller product and pay the same price for it
than pay more than we used to. Take Coca-Cola for example. In 2017, the old 500-milliliter bottles were phased out across the US and replaced with 440 milliliter bottles but despite losing a whole 60 milliliters, the price remained the same. Doritos suffered a
similar fate back in 2008, with the bags getting a
whole two ounces smaller and bad news, Dorito fans,
the packs shrunk again as recently as March
2022, and shrink inflation isn't just limited to the US. Over in the UK, Snickers bars have shrunk by a whopping 17% over the last few years. On top of this, by reducing the amount of actual product they're
selling, food companies can make misleading claims
like 20% less sugar. Sure, it's got less sugar, but it's got less of everything else too, not that companies
always get away with it. When, Toblerone made the gaps
in their chocolate bigger back in 2016, people got so enraged they were forced to revert it. You could say they got Tobler-owned. (air whooshing) Fries and lies. Come on, don't lie. We're all guilty of indulging
in a cheeky McDonald's every now and again, but as
tasty as their fries are, they're also the center
of a life-changing lie. Wait for it. The small bag fits more
fries in it than the medium, or at least more fries for the price. Okay? Maybe it's not life-changing, but still how can this be? Well, it's about the
material of the container. You see, because the small
fries comes in a paper bag, it bends to accommodate
as many as possible. The medium fries, on the other hand, come in a rigid card container, which doesn't have this same flexibility. As such, there's more unfilled space, netting you less bang for your buck. Take a look. The small portion fits
snugly in both containers, but don't get me wrong,
if you order a medium, you'll probably get a few more fries, but the difference really isn't enough, considering you're paying almost an extra third in cost for them. Finally proof you can show your girlfriend that bigger isn't always better. I know, thank me later. (air whooshing) Mirror manipulation. A good photographer will tell you that lighting is everything. Two photos taken from the
same spot six hours apart will look drastically different. The same principle applies to mirrors. That's why sometimes I look at myself and see a young Brad
Pitt while other times, Shrek's shorter brother
is staring back at me, and nobody capitalizes on this more than clothing store
designers, specifically the ones responsible
for the fitting rooms. To appeal to our vanity
as much as possible, fitting rooms are often arranged, so their lighting shines
out from the mirrors as well as down from the ceiling. This creates a flattering,
shadow-free reflection. As well as this, the mirrors themselves are frequently angled slightly upwards, elongating the look of the body and making our legs appear
lengthier than they actually are. Some mirrors are also tinted to give our faces a healthier glow. All this makes us feel better about ourselves and
brings us one step closer to that all important purchase. To test the theory, Australian
journalist, Amanda Platel, decided to try on the same dress in several different stores, and she was shocked at the result. Despite the dress being the
same, her look varied wildly. In some places, she felt like (bell dinging)
she looked great but in others, she felt significantly more lumpy, in her own words, which explains why our entire
appearance can be altered by just walking from one room to the next. Man, I'm gonna need some
time to reflect on all this. (air whooshing) Sped up shows. It's no secret that streaming
services are fast becoming the go-to way of consuming television over their more traditional
cable counterpart. In response to this, TV
executives have come up with a seriously sly solution, speeding up their broadcasts. Say what? Because cable is drawing
less profit than it used to, companies are scrambling to recover that lost cash any way they can, and how do TV execs make money? Commercials. So by increasing the broadcast speed of their shows just a
tiny amount, more time gets freed up for advertising instead. Both TBS and TNT have been
exposed for doing this, speeding up Seinfeld by
about 8% and freeing up an additional two minutes
of broadcast time. Two minutes might not sound like much, but that's four 30-second commercials, which is almost $70,000 more
(register dinging) in advertising revenue. Now you might think doing
this would ruin the show. However, the difference
between the original broadcast and the G-fuel one is pretty subtle. - Showcasing his non-date personality. (audience laughing) - I don't know how you can
hang out with that guy. - Yeah, sometimes he
really makes me tense. - [Narrator] Even so, less subtle are the extra four commercials for
every 20 minutes of showtime, like there weren't enough adverts already, and if you ask me, this is only going to drive more people away
from cable in the long run. Now, what do you think? Are you okay with the extra
ads and sped-up shows, or has it gone too far? Let me know down in the comments. (keys clacking)
(air whooshing) (air whooshing) Dupin' decoy. It's commonplace for
all kinds of companies to offer customers
so-called plans or packages. These are bundles that
present different levels of service for sale, depending
on what a customer wants. Did you know though, that
they're nefariously designed to make us go for the
more expensive option? Take the popular magazine
The Economist, for example. At one point, the publication
had three packages for sale, web-only for $59 a year, (air whooshing)
print-only for $125 a year and both web and print
also priced at $125 a year. One of these options is obviously a terrible choice, print-only. So why even include it? Was it just an oversight? Far from it. The print-only option was
a decoy, designed purely to make the third option, web and print, seem like better value for the money. Without the decoy, the price hike of $59 to $125 seems pretty big. With the decoy, however,
the blow is softened because there's an inferior option between the two main packages. Suddenly, web and print doesn't seem so expensive anymore, and
it worked like a charm. Before the decoy was added, only 32% of buyers opted for web and print. After it was added, this
rose to a whopping 84%. Of course, the economist
is just one example. You'll start seeing it everywhere, now that you know about it. (air whooshing) Small but mighty. Imagine you're the manager
of a clothing store, and you want to promote a sale. When printing the sale
prices, would you go for big, bold lettering
or small and subtle? I'd have said big and bold every time, to grab people's attention, surely, but apparently this
isn't the right answer. According to a 2005 study, people shopping for a bargain are more
likely to buy something if it's advertised in small font. This is because unconsciously, our brains associate smaller font with smaller price. So if we see two identical
T-shirts for the same price but with different sized price tags, we're more likely to buy the
one with the smaller tag. Researchers call it "magnitude
representation congruency." I prefer the term
smaller is baller though. (air whooshing) The health lie. Everybody wants to be fit and healthy. I mean, who'd turned down feeling great and living a long, healthy life. Because of this, we're
drawn to certain buzzwords on the food we eat, antioxidant, whole-grain and organic being a few. The thing is these words don't carry as much meaning as they seem to, and they're frequently used to mislead us. You see, even if we know something is inherently unhealthy, let's say Pop Tarts, if it's advertised as whole-grain
or baked with real fruit, we see it as slightly less sinful, which can be enough to
convince us to buy it. In reality, baked with real fruit is about as vague as it gets. Pop Tarts make this claim,
yet the filling inside the strawberry ones only
contains a measly 2% fruit. The rest is artificial
coloring, sugar and palm oil. Of course, none of these ingredients are mentioned in the commercials. Similarly, Welch's fruit snacks are quick to point out the real fruit they contain but fail to mention the artificial colors and heaps of sugar that come with it, and don't get me started on low-fat. If you see that on something, just remember it's probably
been pumped full of sugar, sweetener and salt to make
up for the lack of flavor that fats usually bring to the table. So next time you're
thinking of buying a product because of its so-called health benefits, don't just throw it in your cart, read the ingredients first. (air whooshing) Baffling bags. I think I speak for everyone when I say chip bags nowadays
are more like airbags with a couple of chips tossed in for fun. I've covered shrinkflation already, but this phenomenon is even more deceitful because the bags don't
physically change size. With chocolate bars, you can at least notice the reduction. Chips, on the other hand, have a trick up their foil-coated sleeve. The bags are filled with
air or rather nitrogen as ordinary air would
make the chips go soft. This effectively means
manufacturers can keep the bags the same size while reducing the contents right under our noses. Even more frustratingly, they claim the nitrogen is there for a good reason, to protect the potato pieces
while they're in transit, Brooklyn-based artist,
Henry Hargreaves decided to test this by loading up his car with an assortment of different bags, then driving around with the all. In complete opposition to
the manufacturer's assertion, he found the chip bags with the most air in them suffered the worst breakages. Let's see if you can guess
how much air that was per bag. 50%, 60%, try again. Hargreaves found that both Lays and Doritos bags were an
astonishing 86% air, Geez. That's still not as bad as this unlucky guy's experience though. (plastic rubbing) At least he handled it well. (plastic rubbing) - [Speaker 1] All right,
you can take your chips. (plastic smacking) - [Narrator] Or maybe not. (air whooshing) Dark patterns. Conniving companies have been
doing everything they can to get our cash since, well, forever. In the last couple of decades though, the internet has brought
forth a whole new slew of techniques they can use. The most pervasive are
known as dark patterns. No, not like the ones you
left in your underwear when you watched the conjuring. These dark patterns are built into a website's interface design. Take, for example, web cookies. More often than not, a big vibrant button asks you to accept all cookies, but what if you don't want to? Ah, then you probably have to click the dull gray Preferences button and manually un-tick every single one. Most of the time, I bet
you just click Accept All out of sheer simplicity,
and I don't blame you, but then the website has done exactly what it wanted to, taken your information. Another common dark pattern is
the account closure process. It goes without saying that no company wants you to close an account with them. So many will do whatever they can to make it as hard as possible. Ever tried to close your Amazon account? Well, the homepage
doesn't give you any clues as to how you might go about doing that. You actually have to
navigate to My Account, then Help, then Contact
Us, then Open Chat, then four more options before
finally requesting to close, the keyword being requesting. After all that, you're still left with time to change your mind. The prize for most devilish
dark pattern of all though has to go to Chinese footwear
manufacturer, Kaiwai Ni. The manufacturer overlaid
the image of a strand of hair onto an online ad for a sneaker they sold. When people swiped their
screens to get the hair off, they were taken to the website instead. Crikey, that really puts
the sneak in sneaker. (air whooshing) Brainwashing. Of all the sly calculating
ways businesses trick us into handing over our hard-earned money, there's one so deceitfully devious it almost doesn't seem believable. Ready for your last scrap
of trust to be destroyed? Okay, here we go. Companies can influence
your buying decisions before your even born. You see, as early as 20
weeks into pregnancy, fetuses respond to sound and at 30 weeks, they can smell too. At this point, a pregnant
woman's listening and eating habits will
have a profound effect on her unborn child. So profound in fact, that it'll affect their behavior later in life. See where this is going? Well, a Philippine candy
brand called Kopiko exploited this information
a few years ago. First, they sent doctors free candy to give to pregnant mothers,
then a few months later when the kids were
born, the brand released a new type of coffee which
tasted just like the candy. The mothers that had
been given the free candy found that when their children played up, feeding them the candy-flavored
coffee calmed them down. They absolutely loved it. So naturally, the moms kept buying it. Just four years later, and Kopiko Coffee was the third largest brand in the whole of the Philippines. Those babies were effectively brainwashed into becoming loyal customers. I bet most of them still
drink Kopiko today. Pretty scary, huh? But Hey, at least I know who to blame for my embarrassingly deep-seated
love of Shania Twain now. Mom, I'm looking at you. (upbeat music) Now, all right, how many of those tricksy tactics
did you know about? How many do you think
you've probably fallen for? And did I miss any that you've noticed? But let me know down in the comments below and thanks for watching. (upbeat music)
