Suckers and their sneakers

There's a new study out showing that men's running shoes are pretty much the same in terms of comfort and support -- no matter the price.

But, of course, lots of men are buying image, not performance, when they purchase sneakers or certain other products. Women generally do the same thing with some of the crap they buy.

I'd like to see a study on whether men or women are the bigger suckers in falling for the imagery peddled to them by advertisers. My guess is that there's little difference between the two genders.

Wait! Upon further reflection, I think men are the dumber consumers. Watch an NFL game on TV sometime and notice the countless ways in which ads for beers, cars, razors and other stuff manipulate the fears and dreams of men.

When you get right down to it, most men are afraid of being perceived as insufficiently masculine -- a matter we've discussed before (here, here and here) with respect to politics and religion.

Let's face it: Compared to women, men are somewhat more stupid -- not a lot, but unmistakably.