That's quite a position. Are you also taking the position that capitalism and commerce are immoral? Because you really can't have those things absent marketing.
At any rate, I can't agree with this. The way that ads/marketing are done can be immoral, for sure -- but you also have PSAs against littering or simply marketing / advertising for any number of things that I'd hope we'd all agree are good ("Spay and neuter your pets," "Don't drink & drive") or at worst neutral ("Now available: The Beatles 50th anniversary Sgt. Pepper CD").
Promoting a thing is not the same thing as "psychological manipulation" unless you consider "making a person or persons aware of something" is manipulation.
One might even argue that marketing is a good when the thing is something that people benefit from being aware of. Is marketing open source immoral? Fitness, as a concept? Ads for animal adoption are immoral?
At any rate - ads are a symptom of consumerism and capitalism, so as long as that's the system we exist in they're going to be present.
Wow, man, your mental gymnastics are impressive and your gaslighting skills are formidable.
Are you saying that greed and straight-out lying is moral, and just because there is a powerful and dangerous minority of super-greedy liars it actually is the only means of social existence? LOL. LMAO even.
"Ads are just making people aware of something" is either a five-year old understanding of what ads are, or a deliberate lie.
That's quite a position. Are you also taking the position that capitalism and commerce are immoral? Because you really can't have those things absent marketing.
At any rate, I can't agree with this. The way that ads/marketing are done can be immoral, for sure -- but you also have PSAs against littering or simply marketing / advertising for any number of things that I'd hope we'd all agree are good ("Spay and neuter your pets," "Don't drink & drive") or at worst neutral ("Now available: The Beatles 50th anniversary Sgt. Pepper CD").
Promoting a thing is not the same thing as "psychological manipulation" unless you consider "making a person or persons aware of something" is manipulation.
One might even argue that marketing is a good when the thing is something that people benefit from being aware of. Is marketing open source immoral? Fitness, as a concept? Ads for animal adoption are immoral?
At any rate - ads are a symptom of consumerism and capitalism, so as long as that's the system we exist in they're going to be present.