I'm well aware of the techniques they use, but my point is that no matter how much an advertiser tries to influence you into buying their product the final decision and action is always your own. You could argue that people with poor impulse control should be protected from advertisers, and I would agree with you to an extent, but that's a separate issue.

It's not only about poor impulse control. A lot of those techniques work in such a way that people don't even realise that something is trying to influence their behaviour. Usually, these techniques "catch" people when they are off guard. There is a lot of psychological literature describing how unreasonable people behave for the most of the time.

Sadly, when it comes to manipulation, human kind has already lost this battle.

I think you overestimate the power of these techniques. They don't add up to making people buy things they don't want. They just change the perception of the goods' value or cost. No matter how many ads I get shown, I'm not going to buy a McDonalds unless I'm hungry and want something quick and cheap that I don't have to cook. They just use adverts to position themselves as a good choice in that situation, or to improve the public impression of the meat they use (and such claims are legally required to be true so they can't just say "we use great beef" and cook you up a rat burger).

Underestimating their power just makes you a better target.

Ever seen an ad saying "All shoes 50% off, offer ends by the end of this week" ? Now think about why these ads always have such a short deadline.

> improve the public impression

Someone trying to influence your impression IS manipulating you.

Social networks / smart phone makers do too, see this recent 60 minutes piece http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hooked-on-phones/

> relying on attempts to place yourself as an informed authority

I've spent 5 years studying psychology at uni so even though I don't consider myself as an authority, I think I've got enough knowledge to know what I'm talking about. I don't give a flying fuck if the person reading my comment will be convinced or not. With that said, if they at least do a research on the subject, we'll all be better off.

> In contrast to your comment, an ad for Viagra is straightforward

Care to elaborate a bit?

How discussing with someone anonymously on the internet compares with a situation where a company is using all kinds of techniques to trick people into spending money on their product?