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Lies We Bought: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Emily Rask
Lies We Bought is a marketing podcast with receipts. We unpack the slogans, myths, and shiny cultural truths we were sold. From “breakfast is the most important meal” to “clean beauty,” each episode peels back the glossy packaging. Hosted by Emily Rask, a marketer who knows the tricks because she used to build them, the show blends consumer psychology, vintage charm, and a wink of 1950s humor.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 3 days ago29 min
Small Ranchers Sued the Government Over a Beef Slogan and Lost
You've had that slogan in your head for thirty years. "Beef. It's What's For Dinner." Someone built it. Someone paid for it. And the story of who, and why, is way stranger than the commercials ever let on. In Episode 17, Emily traces how a mandatory dollar-per-head tax on every cattle sale in America built one of the most psychologically sophisticated ad campaigns in history, why small ranchers were legally forced to fund a message that undercut their own businesses, and how the U.S. Supreme Court eventually declared the whole thing was never an ad at all. It was government speech. We also get into the industry-funded nutrition research you've probably been cited at, the celebrity bypass surgery that nearly sank the campaign, and a small carrot-fed beef operation that tried to do things differently and paid for it. The food system is not what the commercials told you it was. You can support Santa Carota here: https://www.santacarota.com/ 📩 Sign up for exclusive emails and behind-the-scenes context: https://www.lieswebought.com/ 📱 Follow along on: Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/LiesWeBought/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lieswebought/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lieswebought LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lieswebought Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lieswebought/
- 1 weeks ago19 min
Why Vitamins and Supplements Don’t Need FDA Approval
People take supplements for energy, immunity, or because someone on TikTok said magnesium changed their life. The U.S. supplement industry is worth billions, yet many products reach store shelves without ever proving they actually work. This episode of Lies We Bought explores the legal loopholes that reshaped supplement regulation, and how marketing turned everyday pills into expensive wellness rituals. Take Your Supplements: • The 1994 law (DSHEA) that protected supplement companies • Major retailers caught selling fake vitamins and fillers • The truth about wellness trends like collagen and greens powders • What major clinical studies say about daily multivitamins • When supplements genuinely save lives vs. when they just fill cabinets 📩 Sign up for exclusive emails and behind-the-scenes context: https://www.lieswebought.com/ 📱 Follow along on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LiesWeBought/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lieswebought/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lieswebought LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lieswebought Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lieswebought/
- 2 weeks ago23 min
Lululemon, Firefighters & the Chemical Nobody Told You About
PFAS, or "forever chemicals," have been hiding in plain sight for 80 years: in nonstick pans, fast food wrappers, stain-resistant furniture, and the turnout gear worn by first responders. Now they're under investigation in Lululemon clothing, and new research shows they may be slowing firefighters' cognitive function in real time. Host Emily Rask takes this one personally. Her husband Travis is a 20-year firefighter, and in this episode she traces the full story: from a 1938 DuPont lab to a $15 billion legal reckoning, from a West Virginia farmer's dying cattle to the Texas AG's 2026 civil investigation. This is the lie that's been bought and sold for decades and it's in all of us. 📱 Follow along on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LiesWeBought/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lieswebought/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lieswebought LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lieswebought Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lieswebought/
- 3 weeks ago19 min
Wheaties and the Psychology of Greatness
For nearly a century, Wheaties convinced America that greatness could start with a bowl of cereal. This week on Lies We Bought, I open the cereal box on how “The Breakfast of Champions” became one of the most successful identity-marketing campaigns created. From accidental kitchen discoveries and failing sales to celebrity athletes, psychological conditioning, and the rise of sports endorsements, the orange box transformed itself into a cultural symbol of achievement. But behind the slogan was a much stranger story involving propaganda-level advertising tactics, celebrity influence, radio marketing experiments, and a cereal brand constantly trying to survive its own identity crisis. This episode explores: • The accidental invention of Wheaties • How radio advertising saved the brand • The origin of “Breakfast of Champions” • Lou Gehrig, Ronald Reagan, and athlete endorsements • Why celebrity marketing physically changes consumer behavior • The psychology behind identity signaling and parasocial relationships • How Wheaties went from household staple to collectible nostalgia item Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LiesWeBought Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lieswebought/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lieswebought LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lieswebought Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lieswebought/
- May 5, 20261 min
Controversy Sells | One-Minute What
P.T. Barnum knew people would pay to see something questionable before they would ignore it completely. This One Minute What breaks down how controversy, curiosity, and the sunk cost fallacy work together to pull you in, and why once you have paid attention, your brain starts looking for ways to justify it. Because they do not need you to like it. They just need you to look.
- Apr 28, 202618 min
The Dark Origin of Nike's Just Do It Slogan
In 1977, a man faced a firing squad in a Utah state prison and said three words. A decade later, an ad man changed one of them and handed them to the entire world. In this episode I trace the full origin of the "Just Do It" campaign, from Phil Knight selling shoes out of a car trunk to the moment Dan Wieden pitched a line Knight famously called unnecessary. The emotional branding playbook, the Jordan deal that was three times the industry standard, the Banned campaign built around a rule Nike never actually broke, and the ecosystem trap that turns your running app into a shoe subscription you never signed up for. Plus my personal story of growing up as the kid who couldn't afford the Swoosh, and what it cost me long before I could afford it financially. Next time you lace up, you're going to hear those three words a little differently.
- Apr 21, 20261 min
THe Ogilvy Halo Effect | One-Minute What
David Ogilvy famously said, “The consumer is not a moron, she is your wife,” and that belief shaped how modern advertising earns trust and attention. This One Minute What breaks down the halo effect and how brands use subtle signals like style, tone, and positioning to create a high class perception that makes people feel comfortable paying more. Because once something looks premium, your brain starts filling in the rest.
- Apr 14, 202617 min
The Great Low-Fat Conspiracy of 1994
Somewhere along the way, we decided fat was the problem, and built an entire way of eating around that idea. This episode breaks down how that belief took hold, from early nutrition research to government policy to the food industry quietly reshaping what ended up on store shelves. Because what looked like a simple health shift turned into something much bigger, and a lot more profitable, than anyone realized at the time.
About Lies We Bought
Lies We Bought is a marketing podcast with receipts. We unpack the slogans, myths, and shiny cultural truths we were sold. From “breakfast is the most important meal” to “clean beauty,” each episode peels back the glossy packaging. Hosted by Emily Rask, a marketer who knows the tricks because she used to build them, the show blends consumer psychology, vintage charm, and a wink of 1950s humor.
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