The concerns

Advertising is designed to stimulate demand: it attracts attention, introduces people to products and services and can influence purchasing decisions. But stimulating demand is not the same as encouraging excessive or unnecessary consumption. People's consumption choices are shaped by a wide range of factors, including price, availability, income, personal preferences, social influences and changing needs. Advertising is one influence within this broader context, rather than a standalone driver of how much people consume.

Brands nevertheless have a responsibility to consider the environmental and social impact of how they market their products and services. This includes avoiding advertising that encourages excessive or wasteful consumption, ensuring environmental claims are accurate and presenting sustainability-related information in ways that are meaningful and not misleading. It also means using marketing responsibly to support more sustainable patterns of consumption, for example by promoting reuse, repair, resale, refill and other lower-impact choices where relevant. Marketing can therefore play a positive role alongside product innovation, pricing, infrastructure and consumer education.

Evidence shows that consumers themselves are asking brands to help: 86% say they would like brands to help them lead more sustainable lifestyles. Yet significant barriers remain, with 57% struggling to identify ethically or environmentally responsible products and 42% not knowing where to find sustainable or ethical options. Advertising and communications can help bridge this gap by making sustainable choices easier to identify, understand and adopt, while encouraging behaviours such as extending product life, choosing reusable or refurbished options and reducing waste.

Marketing should therefore be understood not only in terms of stimulating demand, but also in its capacity to help direct demand towards more sustainable choices. Advertising self-regulation also plays an important role in maintaining these standards. Across markets, self-regulatory codes set rules around misleading claims, responsible presentation and the way products and consumption are portrayed, with independent oversight, monitoring and mechanisms for consumer redress. Brands also contribute to the development, funding and governance of these systems, helping ensure that standards evolve alongside changing marketing practices and consumer expectations.

WFA supports evidence-based and proportionate approaches to responsible consumption. Advertising can and should continue to play a legitimate role in stimulating economic activity, innovation and competition. But that role must be balanced by clear responsibilities around how products are marketed, how claims are made, and how consumer choices are framed.

Critics argue advertising can perpetuate narrow or damaging portrayals of gender, race and identity.