Fortune cookies are one of the simplest pleasures of eating out, and opening them up to read the inner message is sometimes more exciting than eating them.
One Reddit user showed the r/oddlyterrifying subreddit how that tiny moment got interrupted by a not-so-family-friendly advertisement.
Instead of the usual funny or inspiring message, the cookie contained a printed ad with a QR code linked to one of Asia's largest adult platforms. The other side of the paper had a fortune that seemed to connect to the nature of the ad, which read: "A tempting surprise may be closer than you think."
The original poster shared a photo of the cookie and wrote: "Wasn't expecting my fortune cookie to need an age restriction." The image showed the advertisement that was previously folded inside the cookie shell.
Invasive messaging is a way companies can influence people to buy more than they need. For example, another diner opened up their fortune cookie to an advertisement for a credit card with the message that the reader will soon financially "turn a new leaf." A different customer elsewhere found a ZipRecruiter ad in their cookie.
These ads symbolize that, almost everywhere, there's either an incessant push for consumption or, at the very least, a reminder of our hyper-capitalistic, career-first society.
Intrusive marketing does more than just annoy or pressure people. Advertising that shows up everywhere pushes people to buy more things they don't need, but it also increases manufacturing pollution and fills landfills faster.
Plus, fostering an ad-heavy norm can also lead to more frequent instances of greenwashing, where companies claim commitments to certain eco-goals but don't necessarily follow through, knowing that if a marketing idea sticks, consumers will buy in.
There are ways to reduce landfill waste despite constant advertisements, such as prioritizing thrifting, secondhand sales, Buy Nothing groups, and choosing products with less packaging.
"Officially a new era," one Reddit user wrote in the thread.
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Heck yes 👍 "It killed me when McDonald's started doing this on promotions, now fortune cookies! This has gone too far," a second user commented.
"Capitalism baby, the never ending hole of depravity," a third user wrote, with another responding to the sentiment: "Let me off I feel sick."
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