Far be it from me to defend advertising, but that assumes a zero-sum economy with fixed productivity and fixed wealth. It also assumes a number of other things,

Far be it from me to defend advertising, but that assumes a zero-sum economy with fixed productivity and fixed wealth. It also assumes a number of other things, including no economies of scale, no innovation to meet increased demand, etc. Consumer goods are in some ways about as inexpensive as they've ever been. Turnover can create a landscape conducive to innovation. And all that aside, ads for fractional lending, for example, would theoretically generate capital, and not merely move it around.