The new word was not suddenly being used more frequently by society. You were merely perceiving it for the first time. Advertising can create a model people wish to identify with and imitate. The modeling instinct is one of the most powerful impulses in the psyche. Children model after their parents.
Employees model after their bosses.
Hero worship and hero emulation are common human experiences. We all imitate people we admire. We are all copycats, though most of us are not aware of just how much. Advertising can create personalities and images that trigger the modeling instinct. Advertising can communicate new information.