Consumer spending is 70% of US GDP. It has become apparent to me that investors can learn about the psychology of the US consumer by just paying attention to what advertisers are doing.

A textbook definition of advertising states that the objective of ads are to inform, persuade, or remind the audience of your product or service but I believe investors should pay attention to underlying themes within the ads. The average person sees THOUSANDS of advertisements a day but may only be exposed to a handful of underlying themes.

Themes such as sustainability, workplace culture, customer service, community outreach, food integrity, ethical sourcing, and overall stakeholder engagement are foundational to most modern ad campaigns.

Investors should recognize how car ads are increasingly focused on EVs versus ICE's. What share of all car ads are now focused on electric vehicles? How has this changed year over year?

Primetime NFL ad slots are bought by Amazon so they can share a charming story of employee career advancement as a way to curtail the negative PR surrounding their warehouse working conditions.

The macro importance and relevance of crypto is reinforced by noticing how advertisement partners have changed over the years. Crypto.com & FTX now own the naming rights to 2 NBA arenas.

Gen Z & Millennials care about this stuff. They want to support brands and companies that align with their ideals and they're not shy about it. Social media amplifies everything, good or bad, and companies are increasingly aware of how they present themselves. The focus is no longer only on the product or service but the story behind how it's made and the ethics of the company producing it.

I would be curious if advertising professionals agree with my take that underlying themes are more widespread and whether or not this translates to better ad spend ROI.

If I wanted to spend time each month to watch the 100 most popular advertisements how would I do this? I can attest that Facebook and Google do a great job targeting ads to me but I want to get more of a pulse on the 'average American'.