Stuck in a crowded train this morning, I looked up to have a read of the adverts placarded right above my head. It's not that I like reading adverts, I just often find them to be a source of worry because, let's face it, advertisers are all about tapping into the human psyche and make people want what they don't know they want - yet.

The one I got to read this morning in that packed train infuriated me, yet I knew at the same time that I was supposed to find it 'funny' (actually, I shouldn't even have 'paid attention' so much and moved on to the next thing fighting for my attention... right?) Most people reading it would laugh. I can't laugh because the irony of such adverts is a direct mirror image of exactly what we've become. Incidentally, it was an advert for advertisers, and maybe that's why the 'humour' probably depressed me even more, offering advertisers the opportunity "to connect with urban audiences roaming the great outdoors." Followed by "And this is where we get your attention - when you're out and about in your city habitat, and in need of something a little more wild [sic] than a blank wall to take your mind off your wait for the train...."

Talk about word games. Apparently advertising is all about humouring your audience and poor writing. Is that a way to adapt to the masses or in other words to avoid the risk of having too many people not actually understanding the advert if there are too many 'sophisticated' words? What's wrong with WILDER, why does it have to be 'more wild', for instance?

It's all about being snappy, funny, swift and striking... I wonder if that's a direct reflection of the fact that our society is becoming increasingly attention deficient? There's certainly a correlation to be found there.

But this particular advert is spot on in its 'humour', isn't it? It tells us exactly what we are, or what we've become, but instead of being shocked of feeling insulted... here's the trick: we laugh. I guess in the worst cases of mental apathy there isn't much more than a blank gaze already itchy for its next fix of useless information overload. Some of us might just shrug; after all, it's all around us 24/7 and even the internet is fast becoming the number one advertising breeding ground to 'catch' us all - we, consumers.

By the time I got to the office and found myself sitting at my desk, I did indeed feel like nothing but some fancy monkey typing on a keyboard. Just like my hamster, going through the motions, over and over.

We are mammals, and we like having routines - we often even need routines, or habits, to remain healthy. So maybe there's nothing wrong with being reminded of the fact that despite our best efforts at acting 'human' that's really all we are when we scratch the surface. But here's the thing, if I'm going to be nothing more than a sophisticated mammal in this world, I'd find it less disturbing if the world stopped thinking of me as a consumer. Why? Because it's even worse. A 'consumer' is neither human nor animal - it's not even a 'thing'. A world that brands me a consumer makes me nothing while my wallet is given importance... even worse, while I become nothing, my wallet becomes I in the eyes of a consumption-ruled society.