they’re trying to use exposure to trick you into buying their particular product instead of someone else’s identical product.

That’s probably the case for a lot of products, but I don’t agree with your generalization that advertising offers nothing to the consumer and is presumably a drain on the economy.

I run a small business and see noticeable returns on advertising dollars spent vs not advertising. I run a services business and advertising makes it easier for clients to find us and makes me more money that I put back into the economy by buying lavish things like food and rent. I hate advertising and wish I didn’t have to pay Google or use social media to promote our “brand”, but the truth is I do in order to stay competitive.

The advertising I’m buying isn’t tricking or spamming anybody, it’s targeted to people that are looking for that kind of service in my area and it doesn’t misrepresent our work in any way. What it does do is get my foot through the door and increases the likelihood of them reaching out to us over the schmucks down the street that offer a similar service, but are not as good as us in terms of value, customer service and quality of work. There’s value in that for the consumer.