What’s most amusing about this brouhaha, whether the bogeyman is the IRA or Cambridge Analytica, is that the people who seem to know least about ads are the most prepared to believe in the supernatural powers of advertising. While those who know most about ads, such as actual practitioners, are the most skeptical of the “magic bullet” claims by outfits like Cambridge Analytica. Ultimately, Trump won because more people were willing to share his message (for free!) on Facebook, ungoaded by any shifty Russians, and he was able to use the tried-and-true Facebook advertising tools to win. It was
...more
