Almost all public spaces nowadays have advertisements in sight, and all forms of media, from newspapers
to the cinema to the Internet are filled with adverts. This all-pervasive presence reflects the value of
advertising to us. Without it, businesses of all types and sizes would struggle to inform potential
customers about the products or services they provide, and consumers would be unable to make
informed assessments when looking for products to buy and services to use. Without advertising, the
promotion of products and practices that contribute to our physical and psychological well-being —
medicines to treat minor ailments, insurance schemes to protect us, clothes and cosmetics to make us
look and feel better — would be infinitely more problematic than it is. And without advertisements and
the aspirations represented in them, the world would be a far duller place.