There is a hierarchy of methods to get the job done (to close the production/consumption loop with exchange of information), ranked in order from evil to sublime:

* Spy on and and profile people, (mostly unawares) and push ads by finding their "buttons"

* Create (mostly false) desires across segments of society and use every surface to influence

* Push (more or less) objective catalogs for people to select what they need

* Dont push anything, simply give people tools to pull the objective facts

I think the more psychologically healthy and environmentally sustainable societies will gradually gravitate away from the worst forms of advertising