Not the world before advertising. Our world, as it is now, only without advertising. Whether the average person is exposed to 3,000-4,000 commercial messages a day or 5,000 or some other vague and suspiciously round number, it seems abundantly clear that we see a damn lot of them. They have silently proliferated on every available surface and on the radio waves that our senses can detect; you see them when you're in the bathroom now, in the elevators, when you walk up the stairs. They're on hats, shirts and sunglasses; and in all our private messages. Sometimes you can smell it in your hair. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In this world, products have packaging and places have signs. But that's all. No television or print advertising, no outdoor advertising, no online advertising, no direct mail, no above or below the line advertising. People buy products based on real needs, recommendations or impulses. They buy things they see in stores. If it's not in the store they go to, they don't see it, so they don't buy it. They purchase services from nearby providers, usually those recommended by friends or family. Unless someone they know convinces them to do so, they probably won't switch brands. They tend to buy based on price unless they have a good reason not to. If their friends don't buy something, they probably won't buy it either. People consume less, desire less, envy less. They have less debt. They are not troubled by the sudden desire for things they had never heard of yesterday. In terms of material goods, their scope of interest extends only slightly beyond their scope of influence. At the same time, people lose something. Products and services are available and accessible that could ease their pain, improve their lives, delight their children. But they die without even knowing they exist. Meanwhile, businesses have plenty of spare cash. Maybe they invest it in better products, instead of trying to outdo each other in marketing. Maybe they use it to help the community – or simply to enrich their shareholders. It's hard to sell things that hurt people or don't really help them. Without paper marketing, subpar products quickly disappear, as do the companies that produce them. There are fewer competing products, far fewer launches. Market shares are more equal; it's difficult to truly dominate an industry. There is no longer any commercial TV or radio. Programming must be paid for with license fees, network provider fees, or pay-to-view. Perhaps there are many more crowdfunded projects. Or perhaps content made for love, like podcasts and fan fiction, takes center stage. There are no advertising banners, AdWords or sponsored links online. BUZZFEED does not exist. Twitter and Facebook remained small or closed down, crippled by server costs, because investors saw no reason to invest. Subscription news sites are the norm rather than the exception. In fact, many sites that would otherwise have financed themselves through advertising now charge their users. Being online is an expensive business: no one wants to subsidize your experience in exchange for your data, so you have to pay for it yourself. There are fewer channels, fewer websites, fewer things in general. All content must earn its keep directly from its audience. Not from anyone who wants to sell them something. No more bad publicity. No more B2B “solution providers”. No more "new year, new gym flyers." No more "simply the best" window cleaners. Nothing?