Back in the early days of television, I'm talking from the 50s all the way to the 70s.

Advertisers could expect to earn somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 for every $1 that they spent on television advertising.

A good deal of research has been conducted to determine why this is the case, and multiple theories exist, all of which are defensible to some degree. But back then,

and I say that because this seems to be less the case today, but back then in particular, it seemed

as if consumers trusted brands that were willing and able to spend the money on TV ads more

than their competitors, because it was assumed that,

well, if this brand can afford the high costs associated with TV advertising, they must be doing

pretty well. They must have real faith in their product, too, if they're willing to spend that

much money to produce and broadcast a television commercial.

I'd probably better go with them instead of with that other brand that doesn't seem to have

the same faith in what they're selling, or perhaps the same resources to invest in making

a quality product.

The same general concept was and is also true within financial institutions.

When a bank is headquartered in a great big building with a lavish lobby, filled with gilded railings and

fancy carpets, they're demonstrating in a very tangible way that they're doing well. They've got money.

They're demonstrating their credibility as a financially sound institution. That's apparently

reassuring to people who might be considering putting their money in that bank. Fewer people,

it's presumed, want to entrust a bunch of money

that they want to protect to a bank that's located in a shack on a dangerous road in a bad part of

town. We can see this same performative tendency in the biological world as well. A peacock presents its elaborate tail feathers

because those tail feathers are a representation of, or said another way, a stand-in for biological fitness.

Look at me, a fine set of tail feathers proclaim. I'm a good bet if you want to have healthy pea-chicks.

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