> People need to have the capacity to find things.
There's a previous step: People need to know that there is such a thing to find.
Some advertising (I'll call it "base" advertising, though there may be a better term) is just information. "Hey, everybody, there's this new thing called a mobile phone!" "Hey, everybody, there's this new disease called AIDS that you really had better alter your behavior to avoid, because it's deadly."
There's a second kind, which I will call "us" advertising: "Hey, everybody, we have the best mobile phones! Available now at WalMart!"
We don't need the second kind, at all. I'm not sure, but I suspect the first kind is at least somewhat useful.
(You can still probably call it harassment, though. Useful, but still harassment.)
You're missing the largest advertising: lifestyle advertising. It's not "hey everybody, we have the best mobile phone", it's "You will be cool, women will want you, success awaits you with our mobile phone".
The second kind is still information though. Where do they sell mobile phones? At the grocers? At the butcher shop? At the dress shop? At the shoe store? If I had a small store that wasn't Walmart, and wanted people to come to my store that sells cellphones, isn't it also informative to know that my store exists and that I sell cellphones? It's only because people already know about Walmart and that it's an everything store that makes your example seem like it's not informative.
> People need to know that there is such a thing to find.
IMO, finding things, also covers not being aware it existed.
Like you're on amazon searching for something, and they suggest something you might also like, they don't know if you knew about it already. That's fine, still both parties consenting.
There's a previous step: People need to know that there is such a thing to find.
Some advertising (I'll call it "base" advertising, though there may be a better term) is just information. "Hey, everybody, there's this new thing called a mobile phone!" "Hey, everybody, there's this new disease called AIDS that you really had better alter your behavior to avoid, because it's deadly."
There's a second kind, which I will call "us" advertising: "Hey, everybody, we have the best mobile phones! Available now at WalMart!"
We don't need the second kind, at all. I'm not sure, but I suspect the first kind is at least somewhat useful.
(You can still probably call it harassment, though. Useful, but still harassment.)