A lot of things promise us joy. We’re basically guaranteed this through innovative and flamboyant marketing schemes that get shoved down our throats. Yes, I’m talking about commercials. The premise of a commercial or television advertisement is essentially to get you to believe that what you have isn’t enough and that this new thing can give you all the joy that you’ve sought after for so long. Whether that be the promise of fulfilling relationships or the promise of being cool and accepted because you drink alcohol or the promise of finding happiness in your newly toned abs via that strange contraption that guarantees results in 5 minutes for what takes a good 5 years to experience. Maybe I’m being to hard on advertising, and marketing interns everywhere are, perhaps, getting frustrated right now. But the promise of joy and man’s never-ending quest to find it is the presupposition for almost all advertising — and it’s the driving force behind all of our decision-making too.