Do companies really need advertising?

Not really, or at least not everyone, and not always. I work in the media advertising industry. Our job is to help our clients make the best decisions in terms media spend. Sometimes the best decision might be to use that money to do something more effective than advertising. But, there is a conflict of interest: no creative agency ever is going to pitch a client that the solution to their problem is better distribution instead of building an "emotional connection" with the brand through producing a new 2MM USD TV Ad.

Advertising, specially the "branding" kind of advertising, is a luxury. But, as a such it is a shiny luxury. Marketers need to prove their own value by doing shiny new, trendy things. Because they fall all the time to the perils of advertising themselves: they chase superficial hypes.

What happens when you do a Nation-wide campaign about your shiny new juice brand that has a very poor distribution? Well, your ads will be effective, but not for you. You 'll push consumers to seek for juice the next time they are shopping, but they won't find you there, they'll find your competitors.

I've seen clients wasted millions of USD this way. Trying to solve through media spend what needs to be solved through distribution, a better product, or a better pricing.

Before any marketer starts "brand" emotional, nation-wide campaigns, they should make sure the basics are in place. Advertising effectiveness will be constraint but whatever distribution and product you have. No Ad is going to make your product available everywhere, and no ad will make your product better.