The most desirable mental state for a potential consumer†is a kind of free-floating anxietyand depression, combined with a nice collection of unrealistic goals and desires.

-Lurie, Alison
  Of advertising. In the NewYork Review of Books, 2  Jun.

The consumer isn't a moron. She's your wife.

-Ogilvy, David
  Confessions of an  Advertising Man, ch.5.

The consumer, so it is said, is the king†each is a voter who uses his money as votes to get the things done that he wants done.

-Samuelson, Paul Anthony
  Economics.

Consumer: A person who is capable of choosing a president but incapable of choosing a bicycle without help from a government agency.

-Stein, Herbert
  Washington Bedtime Stories.