I think advertising is great. It allows people in need of a product/service to be able to purchase it, and it allows people providing said product/service to be

I think advertising is great. It allows people in need of a product/service to be able to purchase it, and it allows people providing said product/service to be known and deliver the value. As always, the problem is not the concept itself, but to what degree you allow it to grow. A civilized society has laws and rules limiting individual freedoms so that things don't get out of control. Different societies have different values and put laws in place to enforce those values on the people. About advertising, did you know that in France, the law literally says "The dental profession may not be practised as a business.", which means no direct or indirect advertising ? This is a consequence of the belief that citizens health is more important than private gains (that doesn't stop French dentists to earn very good money compared to the rest of the population). On the other end of the spectrum, you have all these insane marketing tactics who use known human psychological mechanisms to push products/services into their mouth until they swallow it. In other words, people create a need from nothing in their own interest, at the expense of other people. I believe that is bad, and we should have laws preventing that.