From violations of privacy, to the mainpulation or even maliciousness at its core, I think marketing at it’s current state is poison to society. But I also think it might be a necessary evil. What would be a good alternative implementation of advertising look like? Or do we even need it? If the former, how would advertising look in a non-capitalist society?
Assuming innovation, it seems like there would still be a need for some way for producers to inform potential consumers. I’d love to see advertising move from “create demand” to “provide information”. Not at all sure how that might come about though.
Meanwhile, I personally get by just fine with blocking as many ads as possible, which is almost all of them, and going out and searching when I need information. But that probably doesn’t scale to busier people.
I agree, something like a verified product broadsheet that includes information about the product, but also provides information on where it is sourced and manufactured, who is doing the labor of production, where it can be serviced, how long its expected use… to provide the consumer fuller picture of utility.