The Opposite of X

Observation::A lot of advertising can be summarized like this:

0. X = Something (not necessarily a noun) that you want or desire.

1. You want X.
2. You want X really really bad.
3. The only known way to get/receive/achieve X is the Hard Way.
4. One problem. The Hard Way is Hard. It usually is. That's why it's called "The Hard Way".
5. This doesn't stop you from really wanting X.
6. Someone on the television (or radio, or whatever) tells you that there is an easy way to get X. All you have to do is purchase Y.

The process of getting you from X to Y, and making it "obvious" how Y leads to X, is called "advertising".
Figuring out what your X (or series of X's) is likely to be, given who you are, is called "marketing".

For example:
X = freedom, Y = car
X = independence, Y = mortgage
X = acceptance, Y = deodorant
X = control, Y = loans
X = sex, Y = shampoo
X = safety, Y = Volvo

Alternately, there's the negative approach:
(not X) = fear, Y = alarm systems
(not X) = loneliness, Y = beer
(not X) = danger, Y = SUVs
(not X) = old age, Y = beauty cream

It's enough to make a guy wonder if the phrase "There's no sex in the Champagne Room" is a glimpse into a much larger truth about the nature of desire.