"Magazines and advertising are flogging the idea that you have to keep changing things and get something new. I think that's balls - evil. But obviously that's your livelihood"
About this Quote
Then he goes further than mere grumpiness. Calling it “evil” is deliberately disproportionate, a moral escalation that exposes what he thinks is at stake: not taste, but agency. The churn of “something new” becomes a social script that turns citizens into shoppers, and private identity into a series of purchases. Day’s generation watched postwar Britain retool itself around consumption; he’s naming the psychic cost of that pivot with the plain speech of someone suspicious of glossy consensus.
The final jab - “But obviously that’s your livelihood” - is the quote’s poison needle. It’s not just an insult; it’s a trap that forces the interlocutor to feel the conflict between making a living and making a culture. Day performs a journalist’s favorite move: dragging the hidden incentive into the light, then letting it sit there, embarrassing everyone.
Quote Details
| Topic | Marketing |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Day, Robin. (2026, January 18). Magazines and advertising are flogging the idea that you have to keep changing things and get something new. I think that's balls - evil. But obviously that's your livelihood. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/magazines-and-advertising-are-flogging-the-idea-6295/
Chicago Style
Day, Robin. "Magazines and advertising are flogging the idea that you have to keep changing things and get something new. I think that's balls - evil. But obviously that's your livelihood." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/magazines-and-advertising-are-flogging-the-idea-6295/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Magazines and advertising are flogging the idea that you have to keep changing things and get something new. I think that's balls - evil. But obviously that's your livelihood." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/magazines-and-advertising-are-flogging-the-idea-6295/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.





