A Podcast with Receipts
Every slogan has an origin story and every jingle has a motive. Lies We Bought pulls apart the marketing myths and cultural conditioning behind what we eat, wear, buy, and believe, asking who actually benefited from all of it.
Hosted by marketer-turned-investigator Emily Rask, this is the show for everyone who grew up trusting the ads and is ready to finally read the fine print.
Episode Eighteen: Click It or Ticket
What happens when the government decides it's cheaper to threaten your wallet than change your mind, and builds a billion-dollar federal machine to prove it?
In this episode of Lies We Bought, I go deep on the real story behind one of the most recognized public safety campaigns in American history. A four-word slogan, hundreds of millions in federal highway grants, a 1974 government mandate so hated it generated more angry mail than Watergate, and the enforcement loophole that did more work than any commercial ever could.
And yes, Americans really did cut seatbelts out of their cars and buy t-shirts with a fake buckle stripe just to look compliant from a distance.
Watch on YouTube to the very end for Patreon shoutouts and some extra behind-the-scenes chaos.
Follow On Social
Contact Us
Marketing got you again? Same.
If there’s a slogan, trend, or “truth” that needs unpacking, send it in. We’re always taking confessions.