The 12 kinds of ads

The 12 kinds of ads is a great slideshow from Slate (scroll to the bottom to click next). The one ad I don't see there is the "this is such a great deal" ad and I have to confess, that is the one to which I am the most susceptible. I tend to see great deals and then overbuy. This is in part because I don't really like shopping, and hate to return over and over looking for deals. It is also hard to pass up really good sales -- I just got a knit cotton top at Eddie Bauer for $6 (normally $20) and while it was a great deal, I probably could have lived without it if I hadn't seen the sale. Nevertheless, it is useful to see the tactics ad executives use, and I agree with the author, that it is like dispelling the magic from a magic trick to see how things are put together.