Is there something morally bankrupt about advertising?
Yeah, but would you really willing throw out the marketing department of the company or institution you work for? I’m not saying all marketing is wrong. Obviously, if no one was allowed to ever communicate anything about their product, we have a problem. I do have a problem with the way advertising is generally practiced. It’s completely nuts to blame pollution, greenhouse gases or landfills on advertisers. If Joe Advertiser manages to convince 100 people to buy a product that they wouldn’t otherwise have bought*, then I think we can reasonably say that his actions were, in part, the cause of the pollution, etc. involved with the production, use, and disposal of that product. Sure, the consumers’ and producer’s actions are causes as well, but I don’t think we can just let the advertiser off the hook. I’ve argued that we have to be responsible for the consequences of our actions and advertisers’ actions can have environmental and social consequences. I don’t think that is nuts at all.
