0:00:02 > 0:00:05We live in a world where spending never stops.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08WOMAN ON PA SYSTEM: Ladies and gentlemen,
0:00:08 > 0:00:09can you please stop panicking?!
0:00:09 > 0:00:12But why do we buy what we buy
0:00:12 > 0:00:17and how is our desire to spend manipulated?
0:00:17 > 0:00:19Every other company on Earth is trying to get you to spend money
0:00:19 > 0:00:21and they're putting all their effort
0:00:21 > 0:00:24into getting you to spend your money on stuff all the time.
0:00:25 > 0:00:26I'm Jacques Peretti,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29and in this series I'm going to investigate
0:00:29 > 0:00:32the men who made us spend,
0:00:32 > 0:00:36and the one emotion they've relied on for decades to do it...
0:00:36 > 0:00:38CRASH
0:00:38 > 0:00:40..fear.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43They've found ever more subtle ways
0:00:43 > 0:00:46to manipulate our fears and reactions.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48Poor Marge. She'll never hold a man
0:00:48 > 0:00:51until she does something about her breath.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53WOMAN SNEEZES
0:00:53 > 0:00:54They've exploited our anxieties
0:00:54 > 0:00:56to sell everything
0:00:56 > 0:00:58from cars to soap...
0:00:58 > 0:01:00You're not as clean as you think.
0:01:00 > 0:01:01..to the secret of eternal youth.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04And the good news is you don't have to take anything off.
0:01:04 > 0:01:05OK. Even better!
0:01:05 > 0:01:10I'll be investigating how they've used every tactic
0:01:10 > 0:01:12from paranoia to reassurance
0:01:12 > 0:01:14to unlock our primal instincts.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17People tell me, "Wow, I want this car."
0:01:17 > 0:01:20"Why?" "I don't know."
0:01:20 > 0:01:21That's good marketing.
0:01:23 > 0:01:24And I'll discover how it led
0:01:24 > 0:01:29to millions of us taking medication we may not even need.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32It is by far the most successful drug product ever launched
0:01:32 > 0:01:33in the world.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44OWL HOOTS
0:01:50 > 0:01:52On this West London back street,
0:01:52 > 0:01:56I've got an appointment with a man who's after more than my money.
0:01:58 > 0:01:59He's out for blood.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Hi, Jacques. How are you doing?
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Not bad, a little nervous.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08- No reason.- OK.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11'Dr Daniel Sister is about to perform
0:02:11 > 0:02:13'his trademarked Dracula Therapy on me.'
0:02:17 > 0:02:19OK, please...
0:02:19 > 0:02:21lay down here and relax.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23- And relax?- Yes.- OK.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28'The treatment begins by drawing a vial of my blood.'
0:02:35 > 0:02:37It wasn't too painful?
0:02:37 > 0:02:39Doesn't feel too bad at the moment.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41'For a mere £550,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45'he's going to extract the clear plasma in my blood
0:02:45 > 0:02:48'and inject it back... into my face.'
0:02:48 > 0:02:50- OK, ready?- Yep.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59'Growth factors in the serum are supposed to make my skin
0:02:59 > 0:03:01'look and feel younger.'
0:03:01 > 0:03:03So, how bad is it?
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Well, that wasn't bad at all. That was just a...
0:03:08 > 0:03:11..needle...in my face.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13- Yeah.- But it didn't feel...
0:03:13 > 0:03:17- It didn't feel any different from an ordinary injection.- No.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27What do you think the motivation is for people coming to see you?
0:03:27 > 0:03:30People want to stay as young as possible
0:03:30 > 0:03:32for as long as possible.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35Also there is maybe some kind of anxiety to...
0:03:35 > 0:03:39well, to be still young enough to have a second life, a second chance.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42So if people have fears, you're providing the solution.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44I relieve the fear,
0:03:44 > 0:03:46I relieve the anxiety
0:03:46 > 0:03:50and I open the door for their new life.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52A better life, hopefully.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58'This kind of plasma therapy has also been used
0:03:58 > 0:04:01'for a variety of medical conditions and sports injuries.'
0:04:02 > 0:04:04Do I look younger?
0:04:04 > 0:04:05Not yet.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07- HE LAUGHS - Not yet?!
0:04:07 > 0:04:10It takes about two to three weeks,
0:04:10 > 0:04:12and then you'll have the result.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14HE LAUGHS
0:04:14 > 0:04:17'Although its cosmetic benefits are yet to be clinically proven,
0:04:17 > 0:04:21'Dr Sister's success at selling it owes a lot to a tactic
0:04:21 > 0:04:25'that is endemic in modern consumer culture.'
0:04:29 > 0:04:33The surprising thing about that was that I'm not even worried
0:04:33 > 0:04:38about looking old and ageing until I went and had that treatment.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41And now I'm starting to think I should be fearful of this.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44What he's done really cleverly is he's tapped into that fear
0:04:44 > 0:04:47and has provided me with a solution.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Most of us like to think of ourselves
0:04:52 > 0:04:54as sophisticated, savvy consumers,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57alert to any attempts to manipulate our emotions
0:04:57 > 0:05:00in order to make us spend.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03And yet adverts like these continue to try.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Finding some blood when you brush again?
0:05:06 > 0:05:08That could be gum disease, you know.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10And it's not going to get any better if you ignore it.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13It's pretty clear what buttons they're trying to press here
0:05:13 > 0:05:15to get us to dip into our wallets.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18- It was a beautiful day in the park... - Kevin, can you hand me...?
0:05:18 > 0:05:21..that turned to panic in an instant.
0:05:21 > 0:05:22Kevin?
0:05:22 > 0:05:26- And everything depended on a BrickHouse Child Locator.- Kevin?
0:05:26 > 0:05:27Kevin?!
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Although it seems too crude to convince us,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33somehow it does, and I want to find out how.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40'So I've come to get my head examined.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44'The electrodes in this "neural net" measure brain activity.'
0:05:44 > 0:05:45How do I look, Carol?
0:05:45 > 0:05:47You look awesome. Yeah.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53'Psychologist and expert in consumer behaviour Gorkan Ahmetoglu
0:05:53 > 0:05:56'is going to use this to help explain what happens
0:05:56 > 0:06:00'inside our brains when we watch adverts with a strong fear message,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03'like this 2008 commercial for Volkswagen.'
0:06:04 > 0:06:08- Have you tried not saying "like" every other word?- What?
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Remember your ski trip story?
0:06:10 > 0:06:12- Yeah.- "I was, like, going down the hill..."
0:06:12 > 0:06:16Next door, they're monitoring the electrical impulses
0:06:16 > 0:06:17from different parts of my brain.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27The area that engages when I watch the advert
0:06:27 > 0:06:31is the part of the brain scientists know responds to fear.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Holy...
0:06:40 > 0:06:45People in general will be much more motivated by the fear
0:06:45 > 0:06:49of losing something than the prospect of gaining something,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52This is precisely the aim of the advert.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56It is to trigger that particular emotion of anxiety,
0:06:56 > 0:06:57so consumers will feel vulnerable,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00they will feel that there are high consequences
0:07:00 > 0:07:01of not taking an action.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06'Just because my brain responds to fear,
0:07:06 > 0:07:10'that doesn't guarantee I'll go out and buy what they're selling.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14'The marketers need to know how to frame these appeals
0:07:14 > 0:07:15'to our subconscious.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19'And I'm off to meet the man who tells them.'
0:07:19 > 0:07:21I'm deep in the French countryside looking for the home
0:07:21 > 0:07:25of an esteemed anthropologist and psychologist called Dr Rapaille.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Clotaire Rapaille has spent over 30 years
0:07:30 > 0:07:35advising companies as diverse as Kellogg's, General Motors
0:07:35 > 0:07:38and tobacco giant Philip Morris.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45'It looks like the setting for a Hammer horror film
0:07:45 > 0:07:48'but the man who lives here has turned fear
0:07:48 > 0:07:50'into a different kind of business.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53'And it's a lucrative one.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55'This chateau is one of six properties
0:07:55 > 0:07:56'he owns around the world.'
0:07:56 > 0:07:59- Hello. How are you? - Dr Rapaille.- Come in, please.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02- Thank you for your time. - My pleasure. Come in.- Thank you.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05- It's a nice little place that you've got here!- Yeah.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07THEY LAUGH
0:08:07 > 0:08:08I like it very much.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12'Dr Rapaille believes that our primal desires
0:08:12 > 0:08:15'always dictate our conscious choices.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17'Clients get him to expose
0:08:17 > 0:08:20'these subconscious emotional responses to a product.'
0:08:21 > 0:08:24People will say, "Wow, I want it."
0:08:24 > 0:08:26And I say, "Why?"
0:08:26 > 0:08:27"I don't know."
0:08:27 > 0:08:29So if you can break the subconscious code,
0:08:29 > 0:08:31that gives you direct access to the line
0:08:31 > 0:08:34that gets you to sell things to people?
0:08:34 > 0:08:35Yes. And that's success.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38When you do that, you're very successful.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42'For over 20 years, a host of car manufacturers
0:08:42 > 0:08:44'have benefited from that success
0:08:44 > 0:08:47'and Dr Rapaille's understanding of fear.'
0:08:49 > 0:08:52- REPORTER:- The Hummer is taking post-war America by storm,
0:08:52 > 0:08:55from Manhattan to California.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59Dr Clotaire Rapaille is the car psychologist
0:08:59 > 0:09:01who advises General Motors.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03It's a weapon.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05So the message is, "Don't mess with me.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07"If you want to bump into me,
0:09:07 > 0:09:09"I'm going to crush you and I'm going to kill you."
0:09:12 > 0:09:17'According to Dr Rapaille, the car that I came in, an SUV,
0:09:17 > 0:09:19'owes its very design to fear.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23'His advice to car makers focused on exploiting
0:09:23 > 0:09:26'our most powerful primal instinct - survival.'
0:09:28 > 0:09:30A car is a message.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33When I see the car, in the rear-view mirror,
0:09:33 > 0:09:37uh, I want to feel, "Oh, OK, this one is big, this one is powerful.
0:09:37 > 0:09:38"Let's let them go."
0:09:38 > 0:09:42- So it's an important protective barrier?- That's right.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46It gives me superiority in a very dangerous world.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50- So perception and fear of danger... - Yeah.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53..is the absolute animating principle
0:09:53 > 0:09:56when it comes to us making purchases?
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Right. If you don't provide a car that responds to this fear,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03you're not going to sell it. This is it, you see?
0:10:03 > 0:10:04So then you go out of business.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06THEY LAUGH
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Rapaille's techniques proved even more potent
0:10:13 > 0:10:16after the shock of the 9/11 attacks.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20By the early 2000s, SUVs accounted for over 20%
0:10:20 > 0:10:23of all American car sales.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26SUVs are the fastest-growing segment of the car market.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29And they're the mother lode of profitability.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Millions of car-buyers were reassured by the security
0:10:34 > 0:10:36SUVs offered.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40But they were being led by base emotion rather than reason,
0:10:40 > 0:10:45because the SUVs' very design made them LESS safe, not more.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52SUVs are twice as likely to roll over as regular vehicles.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55About 60% of SUV accident deaths involve roll-overs.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05Cars are the perfect product for seeming to shield us from danger,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08tapping into our survival instinct to sell us protection.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10But this notion of soothing our fears
0:11:10 > 0:11:13has almost endless potential for getting us to spend.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20It's an idea explored here in the highly-stylised world of Mad Men.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25At fictional 1960s ad agency Sterling Cooper,
0:11:25 > 0:11:27lead creative Don Draper tells his clients
0:11:27 > 0:11:30how to turn fear to their advantage.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Advertising is based on one thing.
0:11:34 > 0:11:35Happiness.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38And you know what happiness is?
0:11:38 > 0:11:41Happiness...is freedom from fear.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44It's a billboard on the side of the road
0:11:44 > 0:11:47that screams with reassurance that whatever you're doing...
0:11:48 > 0:11:50..it's OK.
0:11:53 > 0:11:54You are OK.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Don Draper owed a debt to the real "mad men",
0:12:01 > 0:12:05advertising professionals who had honed this very philosophy.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08But the Hollywood version was only half the story.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11Jonah Sachs is an expert
0:12:11 > 0:12:14on the history of storytelling and marketing -
0:12:14 > 0:12:17and of a system the ad men have been following for decades
0:12:17 > 0:12:19to get us to spend.
0:12:19 > 0:12:20And it was just a very simple idea
0:12:20 > 0:12:22that could be taught and learned
0:12:22 > 0:12:24by anyone who's creating the copy for an ad, uh,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28that you create anxiety in an audience,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31tell them something that they didn't know but is not good,
0:12:31 > 0:12:34and then you introduce a magic solution.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37- CHILD:- What is glossophobia?
0:12:37 > 0:12:39- COMPUTER:- Glossophobia, or speech anxiety,
0:12:39 > 0:12:40is the fear of public speaking.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45SACHS: 'We all know that storytelling engages us.'
0:12:45 > 0:12:48'We lean in and want to hear the story, and like any good story,
0:12:48 > 0:12:50'it's got a damsel in distress,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53'it's got a villain and it's got a hero.'
0:12:53 > 0:12:56- CHURCHILL:- 'The task which has been set us is not above our strength...'
0:12:56 > 0:12:58The damsel in distress is the consumer,
0:12:58 > 0:13:03the one who needs to consume the magic solution to defeat the villain.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05'The villain is any number of frightening things
0:13:05 > 0:13:06'happening out in the world.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10'And the hero is the one proffering the magic pill,'
0:13:10 > 0:13:13the thing that can save your life and takes that damsel in distress
0:13:13 > 0:13:16and whisks them away from the fear and the danger.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19- CHURCHILL:- 'Never give in. Never. Never. Never.'
0:13:20 > 0:13:22APPLAUSE
0:13:24 > 0:13:27So the moral of the story is that without your favourite product,
0:13:27 > 0:13:28you're in danger.
0:13:29 > 0:13:34It's a sales technique the root of which goes back nearly 100 years
0:13:34 > 0:13:36to this man, Stanley Resor,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39one of the pioneers of modern advertising.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43In 1916, Resor took over ad agency J Walter Thompson
0:13:43 > 0:13:46and set out to professionalise the industry.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48His rigorous training programmes
0:13:48 > 0:13:51taught a new wave of college-educated ad men
0:13:51 > 0:13:57how psychology and human motivation were fundamental to their work.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00What Resor said was that human beings
0:14:00 > 0:14:03were this writhing mass of, um, individuals
0:14:03 > 0:14:06who, kind of, come together in this sort of, um,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09jostling push for food and for safety,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12and that the only thing they really would respond to was fear.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16The first product to benefit from these insights
0:14:16 > 0:14:19was an obscure antiseptic...
0:14:19 > 0:14:22called Listerine.
0:14:22 > 0:14:23In need of new customers,
0:14:23 > 0:14:26its owner called in two of advertising's new professionals.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29And they find out it has an interesting property.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31They say, "Your product is actually great for curing halitosis."
0:14:31 > 0:14:33They leave that hanging in the air,
0:14:33 > 0:14:36because no-one really knows at the time what halitosis is.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38So, of course, the client asks, "What's halitosis?"
0:14:38 > 0:14:41"Halitosis is bad breath and it's an epidemic in society," they tell him.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43"We're going to let people know that
0:14:43 > 0:14:47"this silent social killer is there but it never announces itself,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50"and if you have it, you can't get where you want to go in life
0:14:50 > 0:14:52"and you're going to be a social outcast."
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Jane has a pretty face.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57Men notice her lovely figure
0:14:57 > 0:14:59but never linger long.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03Because Jane has one big minus on her report card -
0:15:03 > 0:15:04halitosis.
0:15:04 > 0:15:05Bad breath.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08So they invent what they call a whisper copy,
0:15:08 > 0:15:10or advertising by fear, and they create this campaign,
0:15:10 > 0:15:12a very story-based campaign about this woman.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14And she'll never be married. Why?
0:15:14 > 0:15:16Because she has halitosis.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19But there is a magic solution to it - Listerine.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22'No-one really knew that bad breath was a problem,
0:15:22 > 0:15:24'until the ad created that anxiety.'
0:15:24 > 0:15:26SHE GARGLES
0:15:26 > 0:15:30It was the basis for a campaign that would run for decades.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32The trouble is, you could have halitosis and never know it,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34and even your best friend won't tell you.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38Why take chances when there's such a pleasant, extra-careful precaution?
0:15:38 > 0:15:39Listerine...
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Listerine's "whisper copy" created a market for mouthwash from nothing.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46# He said that she said that he had halitosis... #
0:15:46 > 0:15:51In seven years, the company's revenues rose from 115,000
0:15:51 > 0:15:53to more than 8 million.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57Listerine's success in making people desire a "cure"
0:15:57 > 0:15:59would be picked up by a vast industry
0:15:59 > 0:16:02that had been built on the treatment of genuine medical conditions.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Henry Gadsden, the head of one of the world's
0:16:07 > 0:16:09biggest pharmaceutical companies,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12bemoaned the fact that they could only sell to the sick.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14In an interview with Fortune magazine,
0:16:14 > 0:16:18Gadsden shared a vision of the future where drugs companies
0:16:18 > 0:16:20were more like chewing gum manufacturer Wrigley -
0:16:20 > 0:16:22selling to everyone.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26To do that, they would need to scare more of us into believing
0:16:26 > 0:16:28we were chronically ill
0:16:28 > 0:16:31and in need of the relief their drugs could provide.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35It was a British firm that led the way.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38In 1984, executives from British drugs company Glaxo
0:16:38 > 0:16:42came to Manhattan to ask the marketing men to do for them
0:16:42 > 0:16:45what they'd done for Listerine and find them a disease.
0:16:46 > 0:16:51Glaxo were launching a powerful new heartburn medication.
0:16:51 > 0:16:52But they had a problem.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Zantac was a prescription-only drug,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58and most people bought heartburn remedies over the counter
0:16:58 > 0:17:01from their local pharmacy.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04They would have to be persuaded to visit the doctor instead.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08'I've come to meet one of the branding experts
0:17:08 > 0:17:10'who came up with the solution.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13'Vince Parry, then working at Saatchi & Saatchi,
0:17:13 > 0:17:18'told me how he helped to transform the way drugs are marketed.'
0:17:18 > 0:17:21You want people, instead of going into the drugstore
0:17:21 > 0:17:24and buying Tums or Rolaids, you want them to go to a doctor's office
0:17:24 > 0:17:26and get a prescription for a chronic medication.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30That's a vastly different behavioural change you're asking for.
0:17:30 > 0:17:31We have to put a name around that
0:17:31 > 0:17:34and we have to put a serious rationale around it
0:17:34 > 0:17:37to justify the complexity of that transaction.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39In other words, we're going to go out there
0:17:39 > 0:17:41and make a big deal about this therapy
0:17:41 > 0:17:43but no-one yet knows they need it.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46- REPORTER: - Most doctors agree it's normal
0:17:46 > 0:17:48to suffer occasional heartburn
0:17:48 > 0:17:51but when it doesn't go away, the diagnosis might be GERD.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53What was essentially heartburn
0:17:53 > 0:17:57became the far more fear-inducing Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease -
0:17:57 > 0:17:59a name soon being heard everywhere.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02When it happens at least twice a week,
0:18:02 > 0:18:06you may have GERD or Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09People are afraid of being diminished,
0:18:09 > 0:18:13of being less than normal, of being substandard.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16When they hear that there's a name for that condition,
0:18:16 > 0:18:21they can go talk to a doctor and maybe get a medication for it,
0:18:21 > 0:18:26that is... That takes away the terror of not being normal.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30Today, clinicians worldwide use the term "GERD"
0:18:30 > 0:18:34to explain patients' symptoms of heartburn or acid reflux.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38By the time its patent expired,
0:18:38 > 0:18:43over 240 million people worldwide had Zantac prescriptions.
0:18:43 > 0:18:48This one drug made Glaxo 3.5 billion every year.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Zantac's success helped change the very idea
0:18:53 > 0:18:55of what constitutes medicine.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Soon, drug companies were offering cures for all manner
0:18:58 > 0:19:03of obscure physical conditions and strange psychological syndromes.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Don't you think the drugs industry, given its immense power,
0:19:07 > 0:19:11has a duty to step back from these syndromes
0:19:11 > 0:19:15rather than to be giving us more medication for more syndromes?
0:19:15 > 0:19:18You can't underestimate demand from consumers.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20People want relief
0:19:20 > 0:19:23and they want quick relief so badly
0:19:23 > 0:19:27that it's almost difficult not to provide it for them.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Heartburn can't kill you but heart disease certainly can,
0:19:40 > 0:19:44and in the late '90s, a new class of drug came on stream
0:19:44 > 0:19:46that would give its makers the chance to sell us
0:19:46 > 0:19:48the biggest wonder cure to date.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51They were called statins.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55Now, new machines like this make it far easier to find people
0:19:55 > 0:19:57with very high cholesterol levels.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01And, once they're found, there is a new drug that is from America,
0:20:01 > 0:20:06and only available there, which could revolutionise their treatment.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Statins could be used for the treatment of heart disease
0:20:09 > 0:20:12by reducing one of the risk factors that contribute to it -
0:20:12 > 0:20:14high cholesterol.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17Now, this drug could help those people by reducing
0:20:17 > 0:20:19the liver's ability to make cholesterol.
0:20:20 > 0:20:26In 2014, 8 million people in Britain alone take a statin every day.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29Only around a third of them have suffered from the condition
0:20:29 > 0:20:33that statins were invented to target - heart disease.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35But we can't get enough of them
0:20:35 > 0:20:39because cholesterol has become a national obsession.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42You'll just feel a sharp scratch on the finger.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49At specialised cardiac screening events like this, and at the GP,
0:20:49 > 0:20:53more of us now get checked for high cholesterol than ever before.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57Is cholesterol something that people worry about?
0:20:57 > 0:20:59Yes, I think it is a concern for people.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02And what we do actually see at the screenings each day
0:21:02 > 0:21:04is that we are able to identify people that have
0:21:04 > 0:21:07maybe a higher level of cholesterol.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11I think I had my cholesterol level done in, sort of, October.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Well, there's quite a lot of heart disease in my family.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17Do you feel well in yourself? You look like a healthy chap.
0:21:17 > 0:21:22Yes, I feel well in myself, but never mind feeling well,
0:21:22 > 0:21:24you don't know what's wrong inside.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26I'd rather find out now and I can go home
0:21:26 > 0:21:30and do something about it, than not find out.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33'High cholesterol is actually just one of many factors
0:21:33 > 0:21:35'that can lead to heart disease or stroke,
0:21:35 > 0:21:40'but today many of us act like it's the only one that counts.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42'And a typical doctor's recommendation
0:21:42 > 0:21:46'to treat it with statins seems pretty sensible.
0:21:46 > 0:21:47'But is it?
0:21:47 > 0:21:51'Dr Kailash Chand is Deputy Chair of the British Medical Association
0:21:51 > 0:21:54'and a GP with over 30 years' experience.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57'His opinion as a GP is that millions of people
0:21:57 > 0:22:00'have been led to feel anxious about cholesterol,
0:22:00 > 0:22:04'and statins are being unnecessarily overprescribed.'
0:22:04 > 0:22:07That fear kind of mentality when it comes in,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09the easiest possible solution is
0:22:09 > 0:22:13go and ask Doctor that measure my cholesterol.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16If my cholesterol is high, I need something doing about it.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20So it's the fear, the fear of high cholesterol and what that might do
0:22:20 > 0:22:23which is actually propelling people to take the drug
0:22:23 > 0:22:27rather than the actuality of them being seriously at risk?
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Yeah, absolutely. Putting them on statin tablets
0:22:29 > 0:22:32I think, in my view, is negligence.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35'Dr Chand's view may be controversial,
0:22:35 > 0:22:36'but one thing's certain -
0:22:36 > 0:22:39'we're obsessed with statins and cholesterol.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41'Where did that come from?
0:22:41 > 0:22:44'To find out, I'm going to meet the man who launched
0:22:44 > 0:22:46'the bestselling drug of all time.'
0:22:48 > 0:22:53'In 1999 Bob Ehrlich was in charge of the consumer marketing campaign
0:22:53 > 0:22:55'for a powerful new statin called Lipitor.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59'With other statins already on the market
0:22:59 > 0:23:04'he needed a way to help his product stand out from the crowd.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08'But the results of clinical trials that he could use to market Lipitor
0:23:08 > 0:23:10'were still years away.'
0:23:10 > 0:23:12It's an interesting problem we had,
0:23:12 > 0:23:16which was we couldn't say, "Lipitor prevents heart attacks",
0:23:16 > 0:23:19so we decided to focus on what we could focus on,
0:23:19 > 0:23:22which was, "We're the best at lowering cholesterol".
0:23:22 > 0:23:25And we went out and advertised that.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27What was different about the Lipitor campaign
0:23:27 > 0:23:29from other campaigns that were being run by other companies?
0:23:29 > 0:23:33Well, the thinking was, cholesterol is one of the things that
0:23:33 > 0:23:36consumers can understand, react to, try to lower.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39The more consumers know about a condition,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42the more educated they are, the more they're likely to take action.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46They caught the public's imagination
0:23:46 > 0:23:48with an easy-to-understand campaign
0:23:48 > 0:23:52that targeted their new selling point, cholesterol.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56Consumers remember basically one thing, and one thing only.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58You can't tell them a lot. They're not...
0:23:58 > 0:24:00One, they're not that interested. So you've got to hit them with
0:24:00 > 0:24:03what's the most important thing that they'll remember.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08It was a simple message the company would stick to for years.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Know Your Number.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16And it was about to reach a vastly wider audience.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19The government came out today with new and aggressive guidelines
0:24:19 > 0:24:22for treating millions of Americans at risk for heart disease.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24- REPORTER:- Exercise, weight loss...
0:24:24 > 0:24:26Eligibility for statin treatment in America at the time
0:24:26 > 0:24:32was determined by a committee of the National Institute of Health.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34This committee now lowered the threshold at which
0:24:34 > 0:24:36cholesterol was considered too high.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39To do that, exercise and diet can help...
0:24:39 > 0:24:42If there was a motto for the new guidelines just published today
0:24:42 > 0:24:45it might be something like, "How low can you go?"
0:24:47 > 0:24:50Overnight, the number of people apparently "at risk"
0:24:50 > 0:24:57from high cholesterol rose from 13 million to 36 million.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59The result for the drugs industry was clear, wasn't it?
0:24:59 > 0:25:00It was ker-ching.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02Well, if the numbers trebled,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05I think that was a decision that the health-care experts made -
0:25:05 > 0:25:10the more people that take statins, the better off society will be.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Lipitor's manufacturer, Pfizer, had financial ties
0:25:16 > 0:25:18to six of the seven committee members
0:25:18 > 0:25:21who made the decision to lower the cholesterol threshold.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28In Europe, including Britain,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31cholesterol guidelines were also soon being lowered.
0:25:31 > 0:25:36But the drugs companies needed a different tactic to reach consumers.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39Here, direct advertising of drugs is banned,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42so they worked with patient groups and charities
0:25:42 > 0:25:43to get their message out.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48BROADCAST IN FRENCH
0:25:48 > 0:25:49Broadcast in France and Canada,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52this hard-hitting public awareness film
0:25:52 > 0:25:55tells in reverse the tale of what could happen
0:25:55 > 0:25:57if we don't get checked.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00It was sponsored by the Lipid Nurse Network
0:26:00 > 0:26:02and Canadian Diabetes Association,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05but it was paid for by Pfizer.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10More than 1 in 500 of the population
0:26:10 > 0:26:12has a specific genetic defect
0:26:12 > 0:26:15which doubles the cholesterol levels in the blood.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17In Britain, cholesterol charity Heart UK
0:26:17 > 0:26:20offered the public advice about high cholesterol
0:26:20 > 0:26:22with a highly emotive campaign.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24I'm one of those 500
0:26:24 > 0:26:27and I didn't realise until it was almost too late.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31Among their various commercial partners was Pfizer.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35Heart UK is passionate about preventing premature deaths
0:26:35 > 0:26:37caused by high cholesterol,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40and also campaign to improve the detection and treatment
0:26:40 > 0:26:42of high-cholesterol conditions.
0:26:42 > 0:26:47GPs faced more and more patients anxious about their cholesterol.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51And in 2004, the government gave them
0:26:51 > 0:26:53a further incentive to prescribe statins.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57- NEWS BROADCAST:- 'Family doctors have voted to accept a new NHS contract.'
0:26:57 > 0:27:00At its heart was a new set of performance indicators
0:27:00 > 0:27:03that would tie surgery budgets to results.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06- REPORTER:- For doctors, a promise of better pay and hours.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08But, of course, they have to give something in return.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12They'll have to meet quality targets.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16GPs were now required to screen for and treat cholesterol.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18But some in the medical establishment
0:27:18 > 0:27:21believe that we are too eager to prescribe statins.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24So it wasn't just the public who bought into this idea
0:27:24 > 0:27:26that cholesterol was this scary thing.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30Government, GPs, the medical establishment,
0:27:30 > 0:27:32everyone bought into this idea?
0:27:32 > 0:27:33Yes. The GP had to do it.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37The GP had no choice but to bring the cholesterol down.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40So how do you bring the cholesterol down?
0:27:40 > 0:27:44Rather than at that stage, in my view,
0:27:44 > 0:27:49going for lifestyle changes, going for exercise,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52easiest way found was put them on statins.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56What we have done is then we over-diagnose and over-treat.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Pfizer told us, "Statins have significantly benefited patients
0:27:59 > 0:28:04"and public health by helping to treat cardiovascular disease.
0:28:04 > 0:28:05"And it is a widely-held,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09"established view within the medical community that treating patients
0:28:09 > 0:28:10"to target cholesterol levels
0:28:10 > 0:28:14"reduces the risk of cardiovascular events.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16"When working with patient organisations,
0:28:16 > 0:28:19"we always ensure that they are not dependent on any funding
0:28:19 > 0:28:23"we provide and their independence is not compromised."
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Pfizer also told us that our assumptions misrepresent
0:28:26 > 0:28:28the responsible approaches to marketing
0:28:28 > 0:28:31taken by the pharmaceutical industry.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34In England alone, the NHS now spends
0:28:34 > 0:28:38over a quarter of a billion pounds every year on statins.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42They are the most prescribed drugs in the country.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46Henry Gadsden had a vision of "selling to everyone"
0:28:46 > 0:28:48and, thanks to the fear of high cholesterol,
0:28:48 > 0:28:51that vision was closer than ever before.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54But there was still a limit to the number of people
0:28:54 > 0:28:56they could sell their cures to -
0:28:56 > 0:28:59until they realised that no-one is immune from risk.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04The alluring prospect of a limitless market beckoned
0:29:04 > 0:29:08for industries that could capitalise on the mere RISK of getting ill.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11All they had to do was play on our desire to stay well
0:29:11 > 0:29:14and our fear of the alternative.
0:29:14 > 0:29:19A whole new anxiety was about to pressed into service -
0:29:19 > 0:29:21hygiene.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23Stale smells up here often come from down there
0:29:23 > 0:29:25in your carpet. Smells from your dog...
0:29:25 > 0:29:2830 years ago, we had a pretty relaxed approach
0:29:28 > 0:29:31to keeping ourselves, and our homes, clean.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33# Do the Shake n' Vac
0:29:33 > 0:29:34# And put the freshness back
0:29:34 > 0:29:37# Do the Shake n' Vac And put the freshness back... #
0:29:37 > 0:29:40The notion that we are constantly at risk of contamination
0:29:40 > 0:29:42or infection barely troubled us.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44# Do the Shake n' Vac
0:29:44 > 0:29:46# And put the freshness back. #
0:29:46 > 0:29:48Shake n' Vac. In three fragrances.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51We could do as we pleased.
0:29:51 > 0:29:52Spread a little fear.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54Vomiting, diarrhoea...
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Caused a bit of a stink! Ha-ha-ha!
0:29:57 > 0:30:00Today, we're bombarded with messages
0:30:00 > 0:30:03that germs are an unqualified evil
0:30:03 > 0:30:05to be purged at all costs.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10The temptation is to move from traditional cleaners like these
0:30:10 > 0:30:12to new antibacterial products like these.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16A new word has entered the lexicon - antibacterial -
0:30:16 > 0:30:19and with it, thousands of germ-killing products
0:30:19 > 0:30:23from hand gel and kitchenware to mouse mats and even children's toys.
0:30:23 > 0:30:25- # She's fresh - Fresh
0:30:25 > 0:30:27# Exciting... #
0:30:27 > 0:30:31I'm heading to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
0:30:31 > 0:30:32to find out whether these products
0:30:32 > 0:30:35really are better at keeping us clean.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40Director of the School's Hygiene Centre Dr Val Curtis
0:30:40 > 0:30:43has offered to show me what happens to the germs on my skin.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47OK, so, Jack, can you put your hand under the UV light
0:30:47 > 0:30:48and let's see what you can see?
0:30:49 > 0:30:53- OK. Can you see it glowing?- Yeah. - There's a green glow on your hands.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57- Turn your hands over.- And this is just touching doors and so on,
0:30:57 > 0:30:59but it's actually right across my hand.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01I mean, I keep my hands clean, I would have thought,
0:31:01 > 0:31:03but they don't look that clean.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06- No.- So... - They look pretty dirty to me.
0:31:07 > 0:31:09What I want to do now is wash both your hands,
0:31:09 > 0:31:13one of them in the latest generation of antibacterial soaps -
0:31:13 > 0:31:16this one claims to kill ten times more than any other.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19And this is just plain white soap.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21- Would you like to put them under my lamp?- Certainly.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23See what we can see?
0:31:26 > 0:31:29- I would say it's pretty much the same.- It's pretty much the same.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33So that's exactly how these two soaps work.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36They both wash germs off your hands.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39So the plain soap actually has got rid of the bacteria?
0:31:39 > 0:31:42- It's got rid of 99% of the bacteria, I would say.- Yeah.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45That's soap that isn't marketed as antibacterial, it's just soap.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47It's plain soap.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49From the day you were married,
0:31:49 > 0:31:51you and your family have been working for life's...
0:31:51 > 0:31:54Our conversion from plain soap to antibacterials
0:31:54 > 0:31:59began in the unlikely setting of a luxury soap brand.
0:31:59 > 0:32:00Simon. Tahiti.
0:32:00 > 0:32:05With Imperial Leather, Cussons had a market-leading brand.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09But, like most soaps, it was firmly rooted to the bathroom.
0:32:09 > 0:32:10The pure English soap.
0:32:10 > 0:32:11Cussons Imperial Leather.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16So in 1994, they launched a product
0:32:16 > 0:32:20that we would need all over the house.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23It's not easy keeping your hands clean and fresh.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25Every day, they pick up all kinds of hidden germs.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27The tone may have been light,
0:32:27 > 0:32:29but the message was deadly serious -
0:32:29 > 0:32:31germs were everywhere
0:32:31 > 0:32:36and we needed Carex antibacterial soap to combat them.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39- So after every little job... - BABY BREAKS WIND
0:32:39 > 0:32:41..always handle with Carex.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43It's a message that would make Carex
0:32:43 > 0:32:46the market leader for the next 20 years.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53'Cussons' former head of product development Barry Shafe
0:32:53 > 0:32:55'was one of the men behind the launch
0:32:55 > 0:32:58'of the UK's first domestic antibacterial.'
0:32:58 > 0:33:00Carex has been hugely successful
0:33:00 > 0:33:03but doesn't just soap and water do the job?
0:33:03 > 0:33:04To a very large extent, yes.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08Simply washing our hands does most of the job,
0:33:08 > 0:33:09but by bringing attention to it,
0:33:09 > 0:33:13we're encouraging more people to wash their hands more of the time.
0:33:13 > 0:33:14Yes, on the one hand,
0:33:14 > 0:33:16that's obviously very, very good for business.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19If you can bring an antibacterial benefit into that, as well,
0:33:19 > 0:33:21then you're doing an even better job.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23Weren't you, though, in the business of actually trying
0:33:23 > 0:33:27to create a kind of climate of fear around the idea of hygiene?
0:33:27 > 0:33:30No. Quite simply, because we all know -
0:33:30 > 0:33:32it's just common sense prevails -
0:33:32 > 0:33:36that people know that a kitchen is never perfectly clean
0:33:36 > 0:33:38and that you have to keep on top of it.
0:33:38 > 0:33:39Here, look at this!
0:33:39 > 0:33:42Yet Cussons and its competitors
0:33:42 > 0:33:45did exploit our paranoia to push an ever-growing range
0:33:45 > 0:33:48of antibacterial soaps, hand gels and other products.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50New Carex Protect Plus...
0:33:50 > 0:33:53It didn't matter that plain soap was just as effective.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57Germ panic was now firmly planted in the consumer's mind...
0:33:58 > 0:34:00..which meant that these companies were well placed
0:34:00 > 0:34:04to take advantage of the occasional health scare or pandemic.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08- NEWS BROADCAST:- Swine flu cannot now be contained.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10That's the warning from the World Health Organisation
0:34:10 > 0:34:12as it heightens its alert...
0:34:12 > 0:34:16'All of the publicity that those concerns get evokes the need'
0:34:16 > 0:34:19in the minds of all of us to stay clean and healthy,
0:34:19 > 0:34:23and that is the only thing that needs to be in the consumer's mind
0:34:23 > 0:34:25to make them see Carex as a good idea.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28Cussons responded to the swine flu outbreak
0:34:28 > 0:34:31with this powerful national press campaign...
0:34:31 > 0:34:34and their sales rose by over 200%.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39So why are antibacterials so successful
0:34:39 > 0:34:41if, as Val Curtis showed me,
0:34:41 > 0:34:44we don't really need these products?
0:34:44 > 0:34:47'She puts it down to a familiar trick -
0:34:47 > 0:34:51'their ability to target our primal instincts.'
0:34:51 > 0:34:53It's not about science or rationality,
0:34:53 > 0:34:55though we're given the science argument
0:34:55 > 0:34:58as a reason to believe it.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01Humans come equipped with an emotion of disgust.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04Right back in our earliest history,
0:35:04 > 0:35:07you see this need for purification,
0:35:07 > 0:35:09for getting rid of substances
0:35:09 > 0:35:13that are yucky and nasty and might make us ill.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16So there are certain products that we used in rituals for purification,
0:35:16 > 0:35:18things like vinegar, things like lemon,
0:35:18 > 0:35:23and you find that those things are actually put into products nowadays,
0:35:23 > 0:35:27because, in our ancient brain, those are things that cue purity.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29That primal fear of getting ill
0:35:29 > 0:35:32soon piqued the interest of the food industry.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35They showered us with hundreds of new products
0:35:35 > 0:35:39and sold us the idea that an ordinary balanced diet
0:35:39 > 0:35:41was no longer enough.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44To stay well and stave off disease,
0:35:44 > 0:35:47we needed food and drink that would give us added protection.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51In Europe, tighter regulations
0:35:51 > 0:35:54have now placed stronger limits on the health claims
0:35:54 > 0:35:56food and drink companies can make.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59In 2009, this campaign,
0:35:59 > 0:36:03confidently extolling the virtues of a brand of pomegranate juice,
0:36:03 > 0:36:06was ordered to be withdrawn.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10But some companies had already developed
0:36:10 > 0:36:11more sophisticated ways
0:36:11 > 0:36:14to touch our nerves about health -
0:36:14 > 0:36:17sophisticated enough to sell us the most basic commodity of all -
0:36:17 > 0:36:19water.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22RAP MUSIC
0:36:24 > 0:36:2950 Cent was the man to bring a new health product to the masses.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33The rapper had spotted an opportunity.
0:36:33 > 0:36:37I was in a supermarket and I saw a gallon of water for 2.89
0:36:37 > 0:36:39and I walked further down the aisle
0:36:39 > 0:36:42and I saw another gallon of spring water for 59 cents.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45Chris Lighty was working closely together, he was managing me,
0:36:45 > 0:36:48and I said, "I want to sell water."
0:36:48 > 0:36:50And he was like, "What?"
0:36:50 > 0:36:52THEY CHUCKLE
0:36:52 > 0:36:54I said, "I want to sell water." He was like, "To who?"
0:36:54 > 0:36:57I said, "Everybody! Everybody needs water."
0:36:57 > 0:37:00It might have been an easier concept for him
0:37:00 > 0:37:02if I'd said I wanted to sell liquor.
0:37:02 > 0:37:0550 Cent and his manager homed in
0:37:05 > 0:37:09on a colourful new brand called Vitaminwater.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15'They hatched a plan designed to impress
0:37:15 > 0:37:19'and went to see the company's then marketing chief, Rohan Oza.'
0:37:22 > 0:37:26'He now lives in the hills above Los Angeles.'
0:37:26 > 0:37:29He...set up a meeting with three of us
0:37:29 > 0:37:33and Fif walked in with a Vitaminwater.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35My assumption was Fif was genuinely drinking the product.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38He was very conscious, cos he's very in shape, very fit
0:37:38 > 0:37:40and he drank the product.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42So once we realised that was the case...
0:37:42 > 0:37:44He's a very smart businessman, as well.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47He says, "I want to become a partner in the company."
0:37:47 > 0:37:50And so we structured a deal where 50 became an owner in the company
0:37:50 > 0:37:52and helped build it with us.
0:37:52 > 0:37:53What a beautiful marriage.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55It was great, yeah. He did pretty well out of it.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57I can't say how much. It's an agreement we have.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00I don't tell anybody how much he made and he doesn't shoot me. I think it's pretty fair!
0:38:00 > 0:38:03MUSIC: "Symphony No 9" by Beethoven
0:38:03 > 0:38:0750 Cent took a reported 10% stake in the company
0:38:07 > 0:38:09and set about promoting
0:38:09 > 0:38:11Vitaminwater's revitalising properties
0:38:11 > 0:38:13with this expansive, big-budget ad.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16Sounds like he's integrated his hit, In Da Club.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18Extraordinary.
0:38:18 > 0:38:1950 CENT: Vitaminwater. Try it!
0:38:19 > 0:38:23This is a product that appears to put health front and centre.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27It's not just that it's water enhanced with vitamins,
0:38:27 > 0:38:29it's the range of carefully-named flavours -
0:38:29 > 0:38:31from Revive to Defence.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35And it's bottled in this clinical packaging
0:38:35 > 0:38:39that seems designed to affirm the drink's unique selling point -
0:38:39 > 0:38:42it's a soft drink that actually does you good.
0:38:42 > 0:38:47But in 2009, the Advertising Standards Authority
0:38:47 > 0:38:50ruled that Vitaminwater couldn't be considered healthy
0:38:50 > 0:38:55because its sugar content was nearly as much as a can of Coke.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58Do you not feel any kind of guilt that really you were trying
0:38:58 > 0:39:02to push a product with the word health attached that is not healthy?
0:39:02 > 0:39:05People didn't think this product was going to let you, you know,
0:39:05 > 0:39:07leap off tall buildings in a single bound,
0:39:07 > 0:39:10or, or, you know, climb skyscrapers with your web.
0:39:10 > 0:39:14People realised, "I'm getting vitamins, the product tastes great."
0:39:14 > 0:39:16But don't you think by calling it healthy,
0:39:16 > 0:39:20you're cynically kind of preying on people's anxieties about health?
0:39:20 > 0:39:23Well, it depends how you classify it. It's all relative.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26What Vitaminwater was providing and we were being very clear about
0:39:26 > 0:39:28is it's a healthier approach.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30If you drink plain water all day everyday
0:39:30 > 0:39:33and take your vitamins, that's fine. But the bulk of people don't.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35The top ten beverages in America indicate that.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39Owners of the number-one beverage took note.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42Coke is fighting back, recently buying a small beverage company
0:39:42 > 0:39:45called Glaceau for 4.1 billion.
0:39:45 > 0:39:50In 2007, Coca-Cola took over Vitaminwater's owners, Glaceau.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52Glaceau doubled its sales last year
0:39:52 > 0:39:55and is expected to surpass 1 billion in sales
0:39:55 > 0:39:57in the next few years.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59We've got an amazing opportunity
0:39:59 > 0:40:02to really take Vitaminwater to the next level.
0:40:04 > 0:40:0750 Cent celebrated his investment.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09# I took quarter water Sold it in bottles for two bucks
0:40:09 > 0:40:12# And Coca-Cola came and bought it for billions... #
0:40:12 > 0:40:17And marketing chief, Rohan Oza, went to work for the new owners, Coke.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19People do some crazy things to stay healthy,
0:40:19 > 0:40:22like sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25Marketing for Vitaminwater now pushed even more explicitly
0:40:25 > 0:40:27its health-enhancing properties.
0:40:27 > 0:40:31I like to keep it real simple by drinking Vitaminwater XXX.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34The vitamins and antioxidants help support a healthy body...
0:40:34 > 0:40:37On their website, they went further still,
0:40:37 > 0:40:39with suggestions that certain ingredients
0:40:39 > 0:40:44could reduce the risk of colds, chronic diseases, even cancer.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47Some people treat their body like a temple.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49Coke's more explicit sales pitch
0:40:49 > 0:40:50had caught the attention of
0:40:50 > 0:40:53the Centre for Science in the Public Interest,
0:40:53 > 0:40:56an organisation dedicated to protecting consumers
0:40:56 > 0:40:58from deceptive labelling and marketing.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00They decided to sue.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02After drinking Vitaminwater Energy,
0:41:02 > 0:41:05Lebron James found the energy to try ruling another court.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07He's become the most dominant defence attorney
0:41:07 > 0:41:08in the state of Ohio.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10Coke had created a fictional court case
0:41:10 > 0:41:13to inventively advertise their product's virtues.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15Cos Nicky versus Oregon proves
0:41:15 > 0:41:18that we are free from the tyranny of false accusation.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21Now they found themselves defending a real lawsuit.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24Dude's faking. I rest my case.
0:41:24 > 0:41:25CHEERING
0:41:25 > 0:41:28I asked the CSPI's lead counsel, Stephen Gardner,
0:41:28 > 0:41:32why they turned to litigation in response to Coke's marketing.
0:41:32 > 0:41:34Because we're all scared of dying.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37Companies like Coke, but not alone,
0:41:37 > 0:41:39have chosen to prey on those fears
0:41:39 > 0:41:42and to make people believe
0:41:42 > 0:41:45that this is part of the solution.
0:41:45 > 0:41:46It isn't.
0:41:46 > 0:41:51They were making purely illegal, completely unfounded claims
0:41:51 > 0:41:53to prevent a variety of diseases.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57They claimed that it would inhibit growth of tumours,
0:41:57 > 0:42:00which is doubletalk for prevent cancer,
0:42:00 > 0:42:03of the skin, lung, oral cavity,
0:42:03 > 0:42:06oesophagus, stomach, liver,
0:42:06 > 0:42:08prostate and other organs.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11- Wow.- Awesome, but not true.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14They were absolute and total nonsense.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17These claims were completely unsubstantiated.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21And all they would do at best is give people false hopes.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24At early legal arguments, Coke said that
0:42:24 > 0:42:25no reasonable consumer
0:42:25 > 0:42:28could have been misled by Vitaminwater's labelling.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32Ahead of the expected trial, they insist the claims are
0:42:32 > 0:42:34without merit and will be rejected
0:42:34 > 0:42:38and that Vitaminwater is a great-tasting, hydrating beverage
0:42:38 > 0:42:40with essential vitamins and water
0:42:40 > 0:42:44and labels, showing ingredients and calorie content.
0:42:46 > 0:42:50The specific health claims have been removed from their website.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53And according to a spokesperson for Coca-Cola in the UK,
0:42:53 > 0:42:57Vitaminwater has now been reformulated to be sweetened
0:42:57 > 0:43:00with a combination of natural sweetener and sugar,
0:43:00 > 0:43:02reducing it to 65 calories per bottle.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08Is Vitaminwater the distillation of fear marketing
0:43:08 > 0:43:12in a single bottle of seemingly-innocuous sugary water?
0:43:12 > 0:43:15A product the customer will reach out to every day
0:43:15 > 0:43:18and feel they are protecting themselves against illness?
0:43:21 > 0:43:25If fear could be invoked to sell us flavoured water,
0:43:25 > 0:43:27anything seemed possible.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29The men who made us spend
0:43:29 > 0:43:32questioned how they could use the ultimate anxiety
0:43:32 > 0:43:36to sell us the ultimate cure, life itself.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39# I'm 74 years young...#
0:43:39 > 0:43:43As the baby-boomer generation approaches retirement age,
0:43:43 > 0:43:46they're finding themselves targeted like never before.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50I'm at the 50+ Show at the NEC in Birmingham.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52And the reason these shows work so well
0:43:52 > 0:43:55is because they tap into the priorities and concerns
0:43:55 > 0:43:58of a huge section of the population.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00There's a Gardening Question Time panel,
0:44:00 > 0:44:03a Choosing Your First Cruise panel.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05And the things that really matter are advice
0:44:05 > 0:44:10on how to safeguard your finance and your health.
0:44:10 > 0:44:12# I'm 74 years young... #
0:44:12 > 0:44:15What are you all here for? Is there any reason you've come today?
0:44:15 > 0:44:18When you're retired, your life doesn't stop then.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20You find other things to do.
0:44:20 > 0:44:25- Yeah. For sure.- So this is why we're here, to see what we can do.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28The organisers know their market.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31The concerns of visitors here, and of many over-50s,
0:44:31 > 0:44:36are increasingly about keeping their bodies and minds young and active.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39In the last decade, a new wave of companies
0:44:39 > 0:44:42looked to cash in on some of these insecurities.
0:44:42 > 0:44:46Among the first was gaming giant, Nintendo,
0:44:46 > 0:44:47with a product marketed
0:44:47 > 0:44:51as helping to keep those senior moments at bay.
0:44:53 > 0:44:55Oh, my gosh! How long has it been?
0:44:55 > 0:44:58Honey, it's my old buddy, David. We went to high school together.
0:44:58 > 0:45:00Honey, this is...er...
0:45:04 > 0:45:07Has this ever happened to you?
0:45:07 > 0:45:09Exercise your mind with Brain Age.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11Train your brain in minutes a day.
0:45:11 > 0:45:14By completing a few challenging exercises and puzzles,
0:45:14 > 0:45:16you can help keep your mind sharp.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21Nintendo's new Brain Age and Brain Train games
0:45:21 > 0:45:26adapted the ideas of neuroscientist, Dr Ryuta Kawashima,
0:45:26 > 0:45:28into a series of mini games.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30Simple mental exercises
0:45:30 > 0:45:33designed to stimulate the brain and keep it young.
0:45:37 > 0:45:39David. Nice to meet you.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42David Yarnton, then the head of Nintendo UK,
0:45:42 > 0:45:46was the man who brought the game to Britain.
0:45:46 > 0:45:51We spent a lot of time taking product out to be sampled by the over-50s.
0:45:51 > 0:45:55We went to medical centres, so people in the waiting room.
0:45:55 > 0:45:57We put product in there to sample.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59We actually worked with Saga
0:45:59 > 0:46:01and got their people to sort of sample it,
0:46:01 > 0:46:03get some feedback from them to what people,
0:46:03 > 0:46:06what their fears about, you know, growing old were.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09And it was all about, I think, people didn't want to lose their youth.
0:46:09 > 0:46:10So having fun was really important.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13The brain, as they say, is a muscle.
0:46:13 > 0:46:17So just as I will exercise my mighty muscles,
0:46:17 > 0:46:19the brain has to be kept fit, as well.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21They enlisted trusted national treasures
0:46:21 > 0:46:23to highlight the game's big hook,
0:46:23 > 0:46:25calculating the player's brain age
0:46:25 > 0:46:28and showing how, with practise, it could improve.
0:46:28 > 0:46:31You've got a little pencil that you can use.
0:46:31 > 0:46:33It proved a winning formula,
0:46:33 > 0:46:37with over a million copies sold in the UK in the year after its launch.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40I thought I'd have a brain score of 25,
0:46:40 > 0:46:42but there you are, the truth will out.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44Over 10 million people worldwide
0:46:44 > 0:46:46keep their minds active with Brain Training.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48Brain Training became the best-selling game
0:46:48 > 0:46:50in Nintendo's history.
0:46:50 > 0:46:55Tell me about what Brain Age is. How does that work in operation?
0:46:55 > 0:46:58It wasn't necessarily to say that it's going to make you younger,
0:46:58 > 0:47:00but it was just a sort of measure,
0:47:00 > 0:47:01to sort of see, you could judge yourself,
0:47:01 > 0:47:04do lots of practice and maybe bring it down
0:47:04 > 0:47:05as you got quicker and better.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08So to try as a bit of mental gymnastics.
0:47:08 > 0:47:12It is very much sort of nudging you towards the idea that
0:47:12 > 0:47:14this thing will improve your memory and so on,
0:47:14 > 0:47:16so that's a health benefit.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19One of the things we never did, and we were very, very...important
0:47:19 > 0:47:23that we made sure that we never made any health claims with the product.
0:47:23 > 0:47:27Really, it came from people outside of the company.
0:47:27 > 0:47:28Black.
0:47:28 > 0:47:32David's company didn't really need to make any actual health claims.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36Your brain is in its 60s?!
0:47:37 > 0:47:39That's a bit harsh.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41I thought I did quite...
0:47:43 > 0:47:45Simply by telling me that my brain is in its 60s,
0:47:45 > 0:47:49the game plays on the anxieties we all have
0:47:49 > 0:47:51about mental decline as we get older.
0:47:53 > 0:47:55So I'll keep going back to get my brain age down
0:47:55 > 0:47:59and, I presume, my mind younger and more alert.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01Whilst there's conflicting evidence
0:48:01 > 0:48:04on whether brain training really does sharpen the mind,
0:48:04 > 0:48:06Nintendo's success spawned
0:48:06 > 0:48:09a multitude of products taking a similar approach,
0:48:09 > 0:48:11like online training company, Lumosity,
0:48:11 > 0:48:15and their appeal to people after a better brain.
0:48:15 > 0:48:16Learn faster.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18- Just not miss stuff. - I did it to be quicker.
0:48:18 > 0:48:20Just to stay sharp.
0:48:20 > 0:48:22It's not surprising.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25We live in an era when many of us will have to work for more years
0:48:25 > 0:48:28and in a more competitive environment than ever before.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31And the pressure to remain relevant in the workplace
0:48:31 > 0:48:36is fuelling fears not just about our ageing minds, but our ageing bodies.
0:48:36 > 0:48:40# You make me feel so young...#
0:48:40 > 0:48:43There are thousands of products that promise to
0:48:43 > 0:48:45smooth our wrinkles, but the lotions
0:48:45 > 0:48:49and creams on our high street are just the tip of the iceberg.
0:48:49 > 0:48:51# I'm such a happy individual. #
0:49:02 > 0:49:05I've come to Las Vegas, a city that defies nature,
0:49:05 > 0:49:10to learn about the success of an industry that wants to do the same.
0:49:12 > 0:49:17This is the annual get-together of the global anti-ageing industry.
0:49:17 > 0:49:18What's all this about?
0:49:18 > 0:49:21It's i-Lipo, it's a pain-free laser treatment.
0:49:21 > 0:49:26It's FDA cleared. So we're trying to show the before...and after.
0:49:29 > 0:49:30Here, hundreds of businesses
0:49:30 > 0:49:33are pitching some incredibly sophisticated products
0:49:33 > 0:49:35to thousands of delegates.
0:49:36 > 0:49:38And you've got socks here, what are the socks for?
0:49:38 > 0:49:42The socks are actually a product that thermo-regulates the body
0:49:42 > 0:49:45and allows blood vessels to expand or contract as needed.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47- They modulate the body.- Wow!
0:49:49 > 0:49:51And this is just a glimpse of an industry
0:49:51 > 0:49:56that today is worth over 250 billion.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01We send focused electromagnetic fields
0:50:01 > 0:50:04through special applicators into the patient's body
0:50:04 > 0:50:08to find dysfunctional areas in the body.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10Can I have a go?
0:50:10 > 0:50:13Let's do it. Let's find a machine for you.
0:50:13 > 0:50:14Yes, please.
0:50:14 > 0:50:19- Your stomach is responding. - Right. I'm hungry.
0:50:19 > 0:50:21- No, that's not...- That's not it, no.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24- Your knee also.- Yep.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27- Did you used to play sports? - Um...not really.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31- OK. End.- OK.
0:50:31 > 0:50:34So, what's the diagnosis? What should I do?
0:50:34 > 0:50:37- You're very healthy when I look at you.- OK.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39However, you're drained.
0:50:39 > 0:50:41The choice here is bewildering.
0:50:41 > 0:50:45There's exhibitors offering bespoke pharmaceuticals
0:50:45 > 0:50:47and promoting everything from hormone therapy
0:50:47 > 0:50:50to stem cell rejuvenation.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54And they're trading on the biggest fear of them all, the fear of death.
0:50:54 > 0:50:56What I've seen in there has given me
0:50:56 > 0:50:58an idea of the vast scale of this industry.
0:50:58 > 0:51:00There are people who have come from all over the world
0:51:00 > 0:51:02to sell their anti-ageing products,
0:51:02 > 0:51:05but the mindboggling thing is that they don't seem
0:51:05 > 0:51:07to actually have to prove that any of it works.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11What's all the more incredible
0:51:11 > 0:51:13is that many of the customers are doctors
0:51:13 > 0:51:17because this is a "medical conference."
0:51:17 > 0:51:21You deserve a lot of credit for bringing to the public
0:51:21 > 0:51:24a new paradigm of healthcare.
0:51:24 > 0:51:26Yeah, that's all right, you can applaud.
0:51:26 > 0:51:27APPLAUSE
0:51:27 > 0:51:29In here, they're taking great care
0:51:29 > 0:51:33to present anti-ageing as a credible medical speciality
0:51:33 > 0:51:37that applies scientific innovation and medical technology
0:51:37 > 0:51:42to the prevention, treatment and reversal of age-related diseases.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45But there's one particularly controversial treatment
0:51:45 > 0:51:49that has massively raised the public profile of their industry.
0:51:49 > 0:51:50You're about to meet some folks
0:51:50 > 0:51:53who think that they may have found the key to eternity.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56The programme includes growth hormone,
0:51:56 > 0:51:58which can make people feel younger and stronger.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00Human growth hormone therapy
0:52:00 > 0:52:03involves the injection of a naturally-occurring hormone
0:52:03 > 0:52:07that triggers the growth of bones and body tissues.
0:52:07 > 0:52:1168 years old, a long-time bodybuilder and fitness freak,
0:52:11 > 0:52:15Dr Mentz and many of his patients inject themselves with hormones
0:52:15 > 0:52:18considered by many to be downright dangerous.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20His roster of patients includes movie stars
0:52:20 > 0:52:22and the president of a foreign country,
0:52:22 > 0:52:26some of whom pay as much as 1,000 a month for the treatment.
0:52:26 > 0:52:30Is this a wonder drug? Well, we wondered ourselves.
0:52:30 > 0:52:34I'm 74 and I worked out two hours last night and I've recovered.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37And I can stay up till midnight.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40It's over 20 years since human growth hormone
0:52:40 > 0:52:43was first used as an anti-ageing treatment.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46Back then, it was the catalyst for these two men
0:52:46 > 0:52:48to create an entire discipline.
0:52:50 > 0:52:54Ronald Klatz is chairman of the Academy for Anti-Ageing Medicine.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57Bob Goldman is its president.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00They make their money not from selling treatments,
0:53:00 > 0:53:03but from spreading the word about anti-ageing.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06Their company runs events like this around the world,
0:53:06 > 0:53:11attracting lucrative sponsorship and thousands of paying exhibitors.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14It's earned them close to 60 million.
0:53:14 > 0:53:18Here, they're treated like the A-list celebrities who support them.
0:53:18 > 0:53:22Bob and I have been good friends for a long time. For decades.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25And I always have been a big admirer of Bob's work.
0:53:25 > 0:53:29But I wanted to talk to them about making money out of an industry
0:53:29 > 0:53:31whose credibility is questioned
0:53:31 > 0:53:33by many in the medical establishment.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37You have a fantastically successful business,
0:53:37 > 0:53:39but what it's not based upon
0:53:39 > 0:53:41is any kind of efficacy or clinical testing.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43Oh, baloney!
0:53:43 > 0:53:46That's not only a crazy comment, it's an uninformed comment.
0:53:46 > 0:53:48Everything we do is science-based.
0:53:48 > 0:53:50The people who claim that they're not
0:53:50 > 0:53:54are the people who have little regard for integrity,
0:53:54 > 0:53:58truth and academic honesty.
0:53:58 > 0:54:00I mean, it's really a... It's a disgrace.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02To claim that anti-ageing is unscientific
0:54:02 > 0:54:07is to claim, er...that the world is flat.
0:54:07 > 0:54:10America's National Institute of Health,
0:54:10 > 0:54:12one of the world's top medical research centres,
0:54:12 > 0:54:15cautions against many of the treatments
0:54:15 > 0:54:17offered by the anti-ageing industry.
0:54:17 > 0:54:19They warn of harmful side-effects
0:54:19 > 0:54:23and insist there are no therapies proven to prevent ageing
0:54:23 > 0:54:25or influence the ageing process,
0:54:25 > 0:54:27including hormone therapy.
0:54:27 > 0:54:28They're playing with words.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32What they're saying is, "We've looked at this and we've determined
0:54:32 > 0:54:36"that there is no 'anti-ageing' benefit."
0:54:36 > 0:54:37But what is anti-ageing?
0:54:37 > 0:54:42If you ask me what anti-ageing is, anti-ageing is anything that improves
0:54:42 > 0:54:47the functionality of the human...species.
0:54:47 > 0:54:51You might as well say that no-one has any credibility. This is a...
0:54:51 > 0:54:54- No! All I'm saying is it's... - ..and you're saying it's not true.
0:54:54 > 0:54:59You're right. And the Department of Defence and the UN
0:54:59 > 0:55:03and, er...the, er... the President of the United States
0:55:03 > 0:55:07told me that there were nuclear weapons in Iraq.
0:55:07 > 0:55:08And how could we not believe that?
0:55:10 > 0:55:12You're not quacks selling an impossible dream?
0:55:12 > 0:55:13We're not selling...!
0:55:13 > 0:55:15- ..false hope to people? - We don't sell anything!
0:55:15 > 0:55:17We don't sell any commercial products.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19So, you've created a 250 billion business,
0:55:19 > 0:55:21but you haven't made any money out of it?
0:55:21 > 0:55:24- That's not our...- You haven't done very well, then, have you?
0:55:24 > 0:55:26We would be happy with 5%, but no, we...
0:55:26 > 0:55:28We'd be happy with 1%.
0:55:28 > 0:55:29We're talking about the industry itself.
0:55:29 > 0:55:32That's not our... That's not a benefit for us.
0:55:32 > 0:55:36But didn't you sell 80% of your business for 60 million?
0:55:36 > 0:55:40That is the commercial end of the exposition business.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44We make money from the business of the conference business.
0:55:46 > 0:55:48What would you say to people who say
0:55:48 > 0:55:52that really you're pushing a fear and an anxiety
0:55:52 > 0:55:55that people have about ageing, and you're kind of exploiting it?
0:55:55 > 0:55:56We all age.
0:55:56 > 0:56:01Yes, we're all ageing, but it's your choice how you age.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04It's your choice whether you're old at 55 or 60
0:56:04 > 0:56:07or 65 or 75 or 95 or 105.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10That is your choice. That's what we're offering.
0:56:10 > 0:56:12But isn't that an impossible... I mean, a ridiculous dream?
0:56:12 > 0:56:16- Because it's...- Of course it's not! We're not against ageing.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18We're against the diseases of ageing.
0:56:18 > 0:56:21People say, "Well, who wants to live to be 89?"
0:56:21 > 0:56:23A guy who's 88.
0:56:23 > 0:56:26Because when it comes your time, all of a sudden,
0:56:26 > 0:56:28"Wait a second, I'm not ready to go."
0:56:28 > 0:56:33# You're still a young man, baby... #
0:56:33 > 0:56:39Bob and Ron have honed a seductive, even lucrative, sales pitch.
0:56:39 > 0:56:41And like so many others before them,
0:56:41 > 0:56:45they've done it by picking up on age-old anxieties.
0:56:45 > 0:56:49However sophisticated today's consumers seem,
0:56:49 > 0:56:53it's a technique that works on enough of us enough of the time
0:56:53 > 0:56:56to make a lot of people very rich.
0:56:56 > 0:56:59Over 100 years ago, the men who made us spend
0:56:59 > 0:57:03first learned that purchasing to make us feel better about ourselves
0:57:03 > 0:57:07is rooted not in aspiration, but in fear.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10They ensure there will always be new anxieties
0:57:10 > 0:57:12and new solutions to those anxieties
0:57:12 > 0:57:15that we never even knew we needed.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18Fear is at the very heart of why we buy.
0:57:20 > 0:57:24Next time, how children were turned into consumers.
0:57:24 > 0:57:28We train a generation of kids to think,
0:57:28 > 0:57:30"There's got to be product, there's got to be toys!"
0:57:30 > 0:57:32And adults turned into kids
0:57:32 > 0:57:35with credit cards.
0:57:35 > 0:57:37Marketers began to realise if they could get adults
0:57:37 > 0:57:39to behave more like children,
0:57:39 > 0:57:44they would become better buyers, better consumers.
0:57:47 > 0:57:50What secret methods do shops use to make you buy?
0:57:50 > 0:57:53Take a ride on the Open University's shopping carousel
0:57:53 > 0:57:56and find out what influences you while you're shopping.
0:57:56 > 0:57:57Go to...
0:58:01 > 0:58:03..and follow the links to the Open University.