Advertising: Necessary or Unnecessary

I heard an interesting but misleading axiom: that if a product needs to be advertised, then people probably don't need it.  It's interesting in that it holds a glimmer of truth - most people will buy the things they know that they need, and if you must push a product, it's often because people don't see a need for it.   It's misleading in that it is based on the premise that people are omniscient and industrious - that they know what they need and are willing to invest effort into getting it - both of which are false.

People are not omniscient.  Even those who are smart about some things are painfully ignorant about others, and they live with problems that they could quite easily correct if only they recognized the problem and were aware that a solution existed.   Advertising that helps to recognize problems and discover solutions is selling something that's very much needed.

People are not realistic.   In general, they tend to think that they can achieve things very easily and that problems will not arise.   And in some instances things do not work out as they wished, are harder to do than expected, and sometimes there are very negative side effects.   Advertising that helps bring them in touch with reality is selling something that's very much needed.

People are not industrious.   They are very economical, seeking to get the most benefit from the least cost or effort, and will often abandon goals if the effort seems too great, preferring to live with the problem rather than undertake the effort to solve it.  Advertising that identifies better ways of accomplishing goals is selling something that's very much needed.

But on the other hand, advertising goes awry when it misrepresents the truth: to suggest that there is a problem when it really is not, to suggest a product is efficient/effective when it really is not, and so on.   In essence, deceptive advertising to sell unneeded products is entirely unnecessary, and quite harmful in that it leads people to invest their time and money into something that does them no good, consuming resources that might have otherwise been used to achieve something necessary that is neglected.

So in the end, advertising is as necessary/unnecessary as the product it is advertising for the specific individual to whom it is being advertised.  And ultimately, it is the right and responsibility of each consumer to determine his own needs.   Critics of advertising are no better than advertisers in this regard: they presume to know what people really need, and wish to meddle in the lives of others.  If it is the right of an individual to choose the goals he wishes to pursue for himself, then it is the responsibility of an individual to consider whether any offer is worthwhile given his own priorities.  “Caveat emptor,” is not a phrase that expresses indifference, but respect for the individual consumer to make his own decisions.