The ideal consumer is someone who is anxious, depressed and constantly dissatisfied. Academic studies from the most respected institutions show that sad people are bigger spenders. Why do you think our lives are saturated with images of flawless, unattainable beauty?
According to someone present at one of the advertising conventions after World War II, manufactured dissatisfaction among consumers was intentional. “[F]lawless, unattainable beauty” is merely a subset of that scheme. This is also why advertising closely resembles propaganda.