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That's a rather cynical way of looking at... any profession.

"The goal of the app development profession is to take money from phone users."

"The goal of software engineering is to control users' computers."

And so on... Reductio ad absurdum. You can do this to any profession you choose.

Advertising/Marketing is unique in that it doesn't produce any byproducts. It's conceivable, and often the case, that software is developed because it's something useful and fun to do. The same is true for food, rockets, cars, novels, etc. Advertising/Marketing though doesn't exist for any other reason than to promote products and facilitate flow of money.

Marketing is education, and advertising is art, which is fun and useful. You think people work at, say, McDonald's, because they like cooking?

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