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?
James Tiptree Jr. wrote a short story once called “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” set in a world where advertising was outlawed. The companies uses influencers to use their products in public, but they keep complete control of these influencers in the dark cyberpunk dystopian way.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_Who_Was_Plugged_In