&gt;smacks a bit of thoughtcrime<p>I hadn&#x27;t considered this. I suppose if there are clear laws about what advertising is and what is banned, and you freely choose to join that group, then we can avoid the thoughtcrime fears.<p>To specifically address your points, it&#x27;s hard to say whether storefronts can advertise or not, because they own the building (but someone owns the billboards too). If you twist my arm I&#x27;ll probably say that &quot;Advertising is okay in a storefront if you&#x27;re directly able to walk into the store and capitalize on the advert content&quot;. Billboards fail this test.<p>&gt;Would no one running for office be allowed...<p>Well, in my view, paid placement for those running for office is a horrible symptom of a money-controlled government and media combo. (Un)fortunately that means that &quot;in a world without ads&quot;, things like political knowledge and elections would need to have a structure to allow and encourage people to engage with it, which is an entire problem unto itself.<p>&gt;Who said the purpose of advertising was to change your life?<p>Let me rephrase: From my perspective, I never benefit from seeing an ad. I know what I want and how to get it already, so I&#x27;m hard pressed to give an example of an ad that I derive value from.