Advertising is an inherently bad thing. You have been indoctrinated by a culture dominated by ad men for the past 70 years
Advertising does the above image the overwhelming majority of the time: it funds a product or service and then uses that role as a funder to insidiously destroy the service. Advertising has recognized that customers realize it’s toxic impact so it now quickly entrenches itself in every single industry and product that has eyes on it whenever possible at all costs so it can continue its sociopathic process of destroying functionality and ignoring ethics in favor of “what’s the right product? The one I am selling, of course”
What do you possibly think advertising is good for? Telling you about medicine so you can second guess the doctor that has had decades of experience and insist upon something you heard about on hulu? Destroying everything that was good about the Internet? Plastering every space with so much visual clutter and vibrant color because it drives sales that people now covet muted color palettes at home to escape the constant stimulation?
How do people find new products or services without some form of advertising? Yeah everything you said was bad, but they all have solutions if the government is willing. Many countries do not allow advertisements of pharmaceuticals, for example.
Products and services should only be findable when you actually need them. Think using a search engine to find a specific good, or a business sign labeling an establishment. Such bare bones information could be considered advertising, but it does less to to drive human behavior than facilitate it. It’s not convincing you to get something, but helping you get what you already decided you need.
The advertising problem, like all problems in capitalism, stem from the ever increasing desire to outcompete and be the only power in town; the need to not just meet the needs of society, but have more power than everyone else in society. Competition drives innovation, but to what end?
Spoiler alert: the end is holding power over fellow men, not making life better for you or them. This evolutionary force optimizes for something other than you as an individual, just like Darwinian evolution.
Searchable directories like what? Word of mouth and community recommendations is just kicking the can, how are those people supposed to find new things?
Like websites. Search indexing won’t suddenly become illegal.
How do you find mortar mix, nails, books, tooth brushes, cats, porn, or cool web comics? Probably not ads. You go looking, or someone you know tells you about them.
PS Because tone is hard to convey in text, let me just make it clear that I’m not trying to be combative or dunk on you or anything. I’m pretty against ads, but understand not everyone views the world as I do.
Okay, how do those small businesses handle their advertising?
Facebook, google, shitty firms that use local direct mailing campaigns, etc. Sure, your local mechanic isn’t scheming to topple democracy and ruin every product, but they are enabling those who do and skewing results to give themselves an unfair advantage over newer businesses that enter the market because they have the privilege of having the capital to do an adsense buy and maybe hire someone who can fuck with SEO bullshit
Advertising does not need to exist. There simply needs to be a directory of businesses. If I search for mechanics I can find the ones around me. Boom, done. The yellow pages worked for years. I don’t need google to skew results to show me a specific mechanic that happened to spend more money on advertising. I don’t need a random flyer in my mail that reminds me that the concept of a mechanic is still a thing that exists and they happen to be in my area, shocker.
Advertising is an inherently bad thing. You have been indoctrinated by a culture dominated by ad men for the past 70 years
Advertising does the above image the overwhelming majority of the time: it funds a product or service and then uses that role as a funder to insidiously destroy the service. Advertising has recognized that customers realize it’s toxic impact so it now quickly entrenches itself in every single industry and product that has eyes on it whenever possible at all costs so it can continue its sociopathic process of destroying functionality and ignoring ethics in favor of “what’s the right product? The one I am selling, of course”
What do you possibly think advertising is good for? Telling you about medicine so you can second guess the doctor that has had decades of experience and insist upon something you heard about on hulu? Destroying everything that was good about the Internet? Plastering every space with so much visual clutter and vibrant color because it drives sales that people now covet muted color palettes at home to escape the constant stimulation?
Destroy the advertising industry
How do people find new products or services without some form of advertising? Yeah everything you said was bad, but they all have solutions if the government is willing. Many countries do not allow advertisements of pharmaceuticals, for example.
Products and services should only be findable when you actually need them. Think using a search engine to find a specific good, or a business sign labeling an establishment. Such bare bones information could be considered advertising, but it does less to to drive human behavior than facilitate it. It’s not convincing you to get something, but helping you get what you already decided you need.
The advertising problem, like all problems in capitalism, stem from the ever increasing desire to outcompete and be the only power in town; the need to not just meet the needs of society, but have more power than everyone else in society. Competition drives innovation, but to what end?
Spoiler alert: the end is holding power over fellow men, not making life better for you or them. This evolutionary force optimizes for something other than you as an individual, just like Darwinian evolution.
There was a sticker to put on your mailbox a long time ago:
“Publicity no thank you, Information yes thank you” (or something along those lines).
Publicity is trying to sugarcoat information, we never need that.
Searchable directories. Word of mouth. Community recommendations.
Or just ask the person at the store that sells the things.
Searchable directories like what? Word of mouth and community recommendations is just kicking the can, how are those people supposed to find new things?
Like websites. Search indexing won’t suddenly become illegal.
How do you find mortar mix, nails, books, tooth brushes, cats, porn, or cool web comics? Probably not ads. You go looking, or someone you know tells you about them.
PS Because tone is hard to convey in text, let me just make it clear that I’m not trying to be combative or dunk on you or anything. I’m pretty against ads, but understand not everyone views the world as I do.
You do realize that not every business in the country that advertises is a mega conglomerate bent on world domination, right?
Okay, how do those small businesses handle their advertising?
Facebook, google, shitty firms that use local direct mailing campaigns, etc. Sure, your local mechanic isn’t scheming to topple democracy and ruin every product, but they are enabling those who do and skewing results to give themselves an unfair advantage over newer businesses that enter the market because they have the privilege of having the capital to do an adsense buy and maybe hire someone who can fuck with SEO bullshit
Advertising does not need to exist. There simply needs to be a directory of businesses. If I search for mechanics I can find the ones around me. Boom, done. The yellow pages worked for years. I don’t need google to skew results to show me a specific mechanic that happened to spend more money on advertising. I don’t need a random flyer in my mail that reminds me that the concept of a mechanic is still a thing that exists and they happen to be in my area, shocker.
Lol, businesses gamed the yellow pages too since it’s inception. Plus, not every business has a brick and mortar storefront.
And a lot of advertising is done through posts on social media now. An artist posting a picture of their painting is them advertising their work.
Not all advertising is like you described.