Did you know that Pizza Hut once spent millions of dollars trying to burn its logo onto the face of the moon? That the diamond engagement ring was a marketing gimmick invented by De Beers? That popes did celebrity endorsements? Advertising is everywhere. It surrounds and submerges us. Industry rule of thumb says we are exposed to 3000 commercial messages a day. THE GRUEN TRANSFER lifts the lid on the persuasion business, examining how advertising works and how it works on us. Fuelled by brilliant minds, cutting edge science, technological weaponry and a budget of $500 billion a year, advertising seeks to influence our purchases. Which leads to the question: when we reach for the detergent in the supermarket aisle, can we really be sure our thoughts are our own?