Yes, you are quite right in your post. It is a mixed bag, and there are shades of grey, not black and white. We have to take this into account when campaigning.
Another topic on this forum I created deals with Humane Advertising: Humane advertising - ethical and mutual-beneficial: It is possible !
I think there will be a range of solutions to fight current harms of technology related to advertising. And each applies to different cases. But maybe in time we can define some comprehensive framework or methodology to address them.