I've never seen those antidepresent ads, but it seems to me that they're like many other ads -- ads which portray rich, good-looking, very with-it people -- in order to make consumers subconsiously think, "Hey, if I take that, I'll be just as cool as them!"

You find stuff like this all the time in the media. For instance, I love to shop at Abercrombie and Fitch, I really like their clothes. But it's very hard not to notice that all the pictures of the models waring the clothes, are really HOT. They're all sleezly dressed, and have beautiful faces. Heck, even most of the people who work at the actual stores are gorgeous.

Now, not all consumers who buy their clothes are going to look like that. In fact, most of them are going to be of average weight and normal appearence. BUT, by having those consumers drool at the pictures, they are making them subconsiously think, "Wow! All I need to do is buy these clothes and I'll be just as hot as them!"

Taking a slight turn, this concept, of attractive people attracting people, even transcends marketing.

There are two TV shows that I particularly enjoy, Law and Order, and Cops. In Law and Order, everyone, all the suspects, all the lawyers, all the officers, are very pleasing to look at. And not only that, they're very articulate -- they can express themselves well, and talk in a powerful manner.

Now, compare Law and Order to Cops. In Cops, the people are EXACTLY the opposite. They are all but ugly, very inarticulate, and annoying as heck.

This is interesting: Both shows are about similar types of things, yet in Law and Order people are unrealy glamorous, whereas in Cops they're more your average people.

Why is this so? Well, in a show like Law and Order, the ONLY way to make it succesful is to have fun-to-watch people. The actors have to be comley, they have to be funny, they have to be pleasing. Cops on the other hand, gets its merit from pure, real-life drama and action. Believe me, if those ugly Cops people were made to make a show like Law and Order, it would flop miserably.

Anway, the idea is attractive people attract people. Whether it's for a commercial (so consumers will think they can become like them) or it's for TV (so people can gain pleasure and satisfaction from them), the media is run by looks. Beauty rules.