Society blames advertising for a lot of things.

Here’s the truth about advertising: it’s role is to get the consumer excited about something. He’s another reality: reality is not all that exciting. So, advertising exaggerates the good parts of a product or service to create a compelling story. Some of it is brutal. Some of it is offensive. Some of it is brilliant. Some of it is even true. With that, we can’t blame the woes of society, capitalism and big business on the shoulders of advertising. Advertising is just the message. And you know what they say about shooting the messenger. Last year, a documentary was produced about advertising, marketing and brands, and it’s called, The Naked Brand – The Future of Marketing. It paints a pretty dreary picture of advertising, brands and the future of consumers. It’s true that digital technology has exposed a lot of the things that most people knew to be true, but now it’s all out there in the open. Perhaps this has changed brands and perhaps it has reshaped how products and services are bought and sold, but it’s worth wondering if today’s advertising is the same as yesterday’s advertising: a message that is simply for the times. Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss?

You can watch the forty-five minute documentary right here, and decide for yourself:

(hat-tip to Ivan Hernandez for the find).