The idea feels like sci-fi because you’re so used to it, imagining ads gone feels like asking to outlaw gravity. But humanity had been free of current forms of advertising for 99.9% of its existence. Word-of-mouth and community networks worked just fine. First-party websites and online communities would now improve on that.
The traditional argument pro-advertising—that it provides consumers with necessary information—hasn’t been valid for decades.
Guys, you wouldn’t find anything good if it wasn’t for good marketing you all got the attention span of a gold fish.
That’s not how it worked before advertising was even a thing. People still found good services and the better services got better word of mouth, all for free.