Advertising

Advertising ranges from brilliant to hilarious to insipid. But no matter what the content, companies are paying hundreds of billions of dollars for it every year. So I wonder, does advertising actually increase revenue? And if so, how? Does the quality of advertising really matter, or does a label that turns blue when its cold attract people as much as Mac vs. PC? And if companies are spending hundreds of billions of dollars, does advertising really generate a net profit? Most people think advertising doesn't work on them -- does it secretly, or are these companies just wasting money?

Adjectives

I'm dying for some new adjectives in pop culture. I watch a lot of HGTV and it seems that the people on that station have never picked up a thesaurus regarding beauty because everything is just "beautiful." The same is true on the rap/hip-hop/R&B Pandora station my wife is in to these days. Its like I can't get above a 3rd grade level of expression in my family room. I think adjectives are what add the flavors to conversation, even more so in art. Can I get some more creative expression, please?