Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults

by Mara Einstein PhD, Douglas Rushkoff (Foreword by)

Overview

Powerhouse marketing expert, narrator of Netflix's Buy Now documentary, shows how today's biggest brands are using cult-like tactics to capture not just your wallet, but your devotion.

From viral leggings to must-have apps, Dr. Mara Einstein exposes the hidden parallels between cult manipulation and modern marketing strategies in this eye-opening investigation. Drawing from her unique background as both a former MTV marketing executive and a respected media studies professor, she reveals how companies weaponize psychology to transform casual customers into devoted followers.

This groundbreaking book uncovers:

• How social media platforms use anxiety-inducing algorithms to keep you trapped in a purchase-panic cycle
• The secret playbook marketers use to create "brand religions" around everyday products
• Why even the most rational consumers fall prey to scarcity marketing and manufactured FOMO
• Practical strategies to break free from manipulative digital marketing tactics

With compelling real-world examples and insights from industry insiders, Hoodwinked equips you with the knowledge to recognize and resist these sophisticated manipulation techniques. Dr. Einstein's expertise has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review, making her the perfect guide through the maze of modern marketing manipulation.

Break free from the cult of consumerism—discover how to make mindful choices in an increasingly manipulative digital marketplace.

"Easy to read, and such a good peek behind the curtain of for-profit companies and the ways they influence and manipulate us," —Daniella Young, author of Uncultured

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493086160
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	02/04/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Dr. Mara Einstein is a powerhouse marketing critic. After working for a decade in corporate marketing for some of the biggest names in the business (hello, MTV), she left to become an academic. She is a tenured professor and former chair in the department of media studies at Queens College (CUNY). She is a tenured professor and former chair in the department of media studies at Queens College (CUNY).

Mara is regularly quoted in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, and The Wall Street Journal, among many others, and has appeared on HuffPost Live, The Brian Lehrer Show, NPR’s Marketplace (multiple times) and popular podcasts, such as The Majority Report with Sam Seder. She has also written for Advertising Age, Harvard Business Review, Newsday, and Fastcoexist, and given talks from Brazil to the UK on topics from marketing religion to social media influencers.

Mara serves as the inaugural chair of the research and academic group of The Impact Guild, which empowers people to use media, technology, and pop culture for social good and healthy democracies. She has served as an expert for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), was named one of 100 Significant Women in Native Advertising by the Native Advertising Association, and is an Emmy-voting member of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Locally, she is on the board of the Kew Gardens Civic Association, fighting against building new jails and for the MTA to support local businesses.

Dr. Einstein (and, yes, she is distantly related) holds a PhD in Media Ecology from New York University, an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

author of Black Ops Advertising and Advertising: What Everyone Needs to Know

What People are Saying About This

Lazar Dzamic

“Mara Einstein draws back the curtain to reveal the startling similarities between marketing techniques and cult tactics. .. A must-read book for anyone looking to understand the hidden forces that shape their choices—marketer and consumer alike.”

Daniella Mestyanek Young

“Dr. Einstein brings her expertise in both marketing and religion… Easy to read, and such a good peek behind the curtain of for-profit companies and the ways they influence and manipulate us, even if we aren't in any cults.”

Roberta Blevins

"Understanding the ways companies use cult tactics to market their products will allow consumers to catch the red flags and avoid falling prey to deceptive marketing. From Trader Joe’s to MLMs, Hoodwinked is a fantastic learning tool everyone should have in their back pocket."

Library Journal

"A thought-provoking analysis of modern marketing tactics that empowers consumers to ameliorate its effects. This will appeal to social sciences–based critics of contemporary marketing."

Lenore Skenazy

“If you don’t want to join a cult and don’t think you ever would. .. this is the book for you. Here’s how not to be taken in by online influencers, brands, and even ideas that charm us into believing they are worthy of our time, money, and devotion. Brilliant stuff.”

Editorial Reviews

Dr. Einstein brings her expertise in both marketing and religion… Easy to read, and such a good peek behind the curtain of for-profit companies and the ways they influence and manipulate us, even if we aren't in any cults.”

Daniella Young