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There is certainly a debate over which parts of advertising work most effectively, however I have never heard anyone seriously suggest (until maybe now) that the entire concept of advertising may have no effect at all.

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I cede that point, I tend to ignore advertising, and people do debate whether _internet_ advertising works.

However, I don't think that advertising is enough to remove the democratic component from capitalism.

How can you say that with any confidence, while at the same time admitting you have not looked into it?

Because the majority of advertising is for mundane products, which are unlikely to influence people politically.

The majority of politics is to do with the exceptionally mundane and politics in market based economies are as much about what people buy as who they vote for.

If you want a perfect example of this, go back to the start of modern advertising and look up the phrase "Torches Of Freedom" and Edward Bernays.

In the case you cite, advertisers were piggy backing on the feminist movement to sell cigarettes to women because there was a stigma against women smoking.

In what way did this harm democracy? Cigarettes are dying off, because of scientific discoveries, if anything this demonstrates my point.

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