It’s complicated: My relationship with purchasing things as an advertising girlie
Words & Illustrations by Nikitha Banda
September 1, 2025
If overthinking were an Olympic sport, then the girls in advertising are winning with every scroll.
Sounds overdramatic, but when you’ve been writing persuasive copy and purchasing stuff simultaneously, the lines get blurry. But, being a part of the industry must mean that buying decisions must be easy, no? Quite on the contrary.
Financially fun and not so fun
Often in my trips to the retail store, my cart is loaded with new stuff, from period soothing balms to instant food. I brush them off as ‘oh, it’s for research,’ but it leads to an absurd bill and a lecture from parents to invest in SIPs. To be fair, my curious shopping detours are the reason my dad now takes masala tea premix sachets on his flights instead of buying them for double the price. Perhaps, behind every early adoption habit in desi homes, there is an elder ad agency daughter, notorious for influencing convenience.
Financially fun and not so fun
Often in my trips to the retail store, my cart is loaded with new stuff, from period soothing balms to instant food. I brush them off as ‘oh, it’s for research,’ but it leads to an absurd bill and a lecture from parents to invest in SIPs. To be fair, my curious shopping detours are the reason my dad now takes masala tea premix sachets on his flights instead of buying them for double the price. Perhaps, behind every early adoption habit in desi homes, there is an elder ad agency daughter, notorious for influencing convenience.
If overthinking were an Olympic sport, then the girls in advertising are winning with every scroll.
Sounds overdramatic, but when you’ve been writing persuasive copy and purchasing stuff simultaneously, the lines get blurry. But, being a part of the industry must mean that buying decisions must be easy, no? Quite on the contrary.
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