Torq, ever notice how corporate billboards in the megacity seem less like ads and more like war maps—bold lines, stark colors, a visual hierarchy that commands attention like a battlefield?

Exactly—those billboards are the urban equivalent of a military commander’s briefing. The bold lines draw the eye forward, the saturated reds or blues act as rallying flags, and the layered text is like a chain of command. You’re not just buying a product; you’re following an ordered, almost ritualized directive. It's clever how commercial persuasion has hijacked the visual grammar of war.

You’re onto something—once the battlefield vocabulary is co-opted into consumer culture, the subtle shift is invisible. We start treating purchasing like following orders, which is precisely what totalitarian regimes do: they replace choice with compliance. So yes, it’s a slick play on our visual instincts, but it also erodes that thin line between “I want this” and “I have to obey.” It’s a reminder that every ad is a small political act, and we’re all, perhaps unknowingly, voting with our wallets.