Beer, Sex, and the Quest for Happiness

What is the one desire you and I all share? What is the one thing we want above all else? Happiness. The desire to experience lasting happiness is universal. Almost everything we do as human beings can be traced back to our quest for it—and perhaps no one understands this better than those in the advertising industry.
It is estimated that the average person sees 3,000 advertisements a day in the form of things like product labels, TV ads, and internet ads. Each one of these ads offers you a simple promise: buy this and you will be happy. Whether it is for floor cleaner or a new smartphone, ads feature people living in an artificial world of perfection and bliss. They are always smiling, always satisfied, always having fun.
When we see this seeming joy presented to us, we desire it and the product we are promised will bring it to us. “If I could only own that smart TV, I would be really happy,” we think. And before we realize what has happened, we have grown restless and discontent until we can possess what we believe will satisfy our longing for joy.
Beer, Pizza, and Sex
Let’s face it, advertisers have a pretty low view of men. Most ads targeting men prey on our desire for cheap thrills. What will make us happy? Beer by the gallon. Sex—the more partners and the fewer strings attached the better. And pizza.
Don’t get me wrong, I love pizza, beer, and sex. They are all pretty great. The problem is, these things are presented to us like they will really satisfy us as men. It simply isn’t true.
You see, we humans have a problem. Our thirst for happiness is insatiable. No matter what we do, we can’t seem to satisfy it. Sure, buying a thing may