A customer at a restaurant found a startling message in their fortune cookie, and it wasn’t related to their future.
In the r/LateStageCapitalism subreddit, the diner shared a photo of a fortune that offered some advice, along with an ad from the gambling website Stake. It also included an additional message to “gamble responsibly.”
Photo Credit: Reddit
“Ads on fortune cookie messages now?” they wondered in the headline of the post.
Surprisingly, this is not the first time ads have sneaked into fortune cookies, and it’s an unfortunate sign of how pervasive advertising has become.
People see dozens of ads daily — from television, online, and on billboards — and they continue to pop up in unexpected places, such as beaches, train stations, and blinding LED screens along roadways.
Advertising pushes people to consume more items and be more materialistic, which, according to research summarized by The Guardian, can lead them to feel lower levels of well-being, engage in fewer positive social behaviors, and see their relationships negatively affected.
It drives people to spend money on items they may not really need, leaving a level of dissatisfaction that’s hard to remedy.
There’s also the environmental impact of all that consumption. Items become disposable, such as fast fashion and furniture, resulting in overflowing landfills. Those items will take centuries to break down naturally, releasing planet-warming gases as they do.
The energy needed to produce the items — likely sourced through burning dirty fuels — is also wasted, not to mention the energy and materials required to create and broadcast the ads. All of this creates pollution that has a negative global impact.
However, we don’t have to give in to the lure of advertising. There are great options to save money, such as shopping secondhand. Trading items through “Buy Nothing” groups is also a great way to save some cash and build community.
Redditors in the comments were similarly irritated with the ad hidden in the fortune cookie.
“I would have a talk with the manager,” one person suggested, pointing out that it doesn’t have to be a confrontation, just a discussion about the inappropriate placement of an ad.
“Next up is ads in our dreams powered by gamma radiation,” another person quipped.
��
Get TCD’s free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices — and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD’s exclusive Rewards Club.


















