Advertising is a poorly understood commercial activity, and most would assume it to be obviously to the disadvantage of the consumer, who may come to buy a more expensive or an inferior product simply because it has been advertised. We know, after all, that advertising can defend as well as extend markets, and it is tempting to see such defense as the employment of suasion to compromise the interests of the consumer.
However, it is conceivable that advertising in fact supplies a very considerable benefit to the consumer, who comes to know of a utility or a good without having to make any considerable effort. The valure of this service should not be underestimated, least of all by anyone, surely most of us, who have had to spend hours on the internet searching for a product that will address a particular need.
Advertisers are or can be seen as saving consumer time, and this may be considered to compensate them for any shortfall in quality or premium in price (to pay for the advertising for example), though I would suspect that these deficiencies are more often imagined than real. Producers able to sustain a significant and costly advertising campaign are very probably competitive.