In real markets, every person is not aware of every product. While marketing can be used to push inferior products, it can also be used to raise awareness of s

In real markets, every person is not aware of every product. While marketing can be used to push inferior products, it can also be used to raise awareness of superior products. You could also view advertising as a way of adding intangible value to products. I.e., maybe the warm fuzzy feelings Apple fans get from supporting their favorite company constitute extra utility that would not have been created without Apple's marketing and branding efforts. I agree that sometimes marketing leads to outcomes that are economically inefficient, but saying all or most advertising falls in this category is a much tougher sale.