Which Products Make You Feel Insecure About Things You Didn't Know You Should Worry About?

It’s a tried-and-true trick of advertisers to sell you a product by making you feel like you’d be somehow less pretty, manly, or intelligent if you don’t buy it. And then there’s what we like to call “insecurity innovation,” when companies introduce you to new ways to feel bad about how you look, mow much you earn or what your armpits look like.

Speaking of which, the most recent example would be the Dove deodorant that lets women know their armpits are in desperate need of a “piticure.” Yes, you need not only worry about hairy pits, but about their general skin tone — and of course there’s a product to help you solve that.

We wanted to hear from you, our beloved readers, about those products that make you feel incomplete on some level. Didn’t know your butt wasn’t round enough until you saw those rear-lifting pants? Didn’t know your grass wasn’t the right color until you saw that ad for a certain kind of fertilizer? Tell all about those products that give you that uncertain feeling whenever you hear about them.

Or maybe you’re incredibly strong-willed and none of this works on you. If so, let us know which products and ads you scoff at the most.

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.