I read a description of advertising which really resonated with me: "Advertising attempts to make the person you are envy the person you could be with their product. In other words, they try to steal your contentment and then offer to sell it back to you."

That's from memory, and I don't remember who said it, so I can't give credit where due. But I think it's a great description of what you're saying - that ads are killing our self esteem and self image.