Advertising is an important method of competition, especially in industries that are highly concentrated. Where companies are unable to compete on price, advertising is fundamental to promote the subtle differences between products. Advertising has gone beyond informing people of the benefits of a product and how to obtain it and has moved into the area of market creation, Hiding behind globalization and partial truths, advertising has become morally questionable by promoting gluttony, vanity, materialism, and other unhealthy ways of thinking in order to create artificial product needs in consumers.

Advertising is an excellent form of communication. Advertising delivers a wealth of information to consumers on varying topics including healthcare and education. The commercial "Above the Influence," is a good example of informative and helpful advertising. This particular commercial attempts to reduce teenage addiction to cigarettes. Other helpful advertisements inform consumers on healthcare topics such as heart disease and diabetes and sources of assistance for social issues such as community events, education opportunities, and political meetings, to name just a few.

On the negative side, advertising has expanded from word of mouth and print to include radio, television, and the Internet, among others. The quantity of advertising encountered by people has become so great that the human sensory system is being overloaded. We see thousands and thousands of ads every single day and we get so immune to it that sometimes we forget that they are ads. Advertising has become so powerful and so subtle that consumers accept most advertising content without critical thought. Unable to exercise careful analysis of every message, consumers find themselves in a mental overload caused by indoctrinating propaganda.