Have we just become numb to ads?
Online I use multiple browser extensions and settings to avoid showing ads. In the offline world there is no way to avoid them but I think I pretty much can ignore them.
I also intentionally do not buy anything I remember seeing an ad for.
In 2020 Freakonomics did a dive into the effectiveness of adverts. Link below (transcripts too). There are sources listed and such. My tl;dr based on memory is that ads in general are not very cost effective for most companies. Ads are very cost effective for companies that sell ads though.
They are effective, but not usually by being convincing. Its usually through saturation so that the first brand that comes to mind when you do need a thing is the one that saturated your market.
Spon con and influencers are more convincing/creating a parasocial connection.
I think ads are super effective for some demographics. Children are probably the best target market. Teenagers, particularly those who seek external validation or align to external norms are a sweet spot. Old guys like me? No effect whatsoever.
Ads were effective in that they caused me to stop watching tv soooo... π€·
Any company that pays for ads closely tracks the efficacy of ads and can more or less prove that the ads are worth it. There's no guess work.
For the average person immensely. Especially when you're not familiar with a field and just need something, you'll probably buy something you saw before. For example if you see Makita ads for power tools and you suddenly need to buy a power tool.
When was the last time you bought something you'd never heard of
Given that Google generated more than 250 billion U.S. dollars in ad revenue in 2024, I'd say they must be pretty effective.
Super effective!
It's not so much that ads can only sell you something anymore. They're able to sell your personal details and identity when abused.
I believe the issue has been written on even prior to the 2025 article from Wired.
Data brokers are basically form centralized American platforms which carry immense databases about its users. These demographics can essentially be used to target high value targets. These can include government employees, members of military, and other persons of interest.
These brokers use Mobile IDs to allow advertisers to micro-target people with their habits, browsing fingerprint, and purchase habits. Even if these companies say they don't associate identities with these Mobile IDs, the brokers can cross-reference enough information to basically de-anonymize a target.
Plus with influencers these days, many don't disclose if what they do is sponsored or part of a greater outreach campaign. You're basically stuck wondering if you're getting targeted or astroturfed.
https://www.wired.com/story/google-dv360-banned-audience-segments-national-security/
For me not at all. I'm old enough to research & shop for what I need rather than impulse buy. Tech wise I dont very rarely see any ads at all thanks to strong ad blocking & general privacy consciousness. I try to stick to open source only & fediverse is the only social media I use. For YouTube I never sign in to so I'm not affected by the algorithm & never see ads on it ever (channels I like are in a Joplin note synced between devices). Broadcast TV is recorded via HTPC & ads stripped before episodes are fed into Jellyfin.
I dont "get" influencers. Even back in the day I used to ask why celebrities always put their name to perfume/aftershave as I'd only buy what I liked the smell of regardless of the brand/name.
Yeah, I know I'm an outlier, even my mates take the piss.
Not really. I have most of what I want and need. Now I just need to zero my debt, which ain't gonna happen soon. So I don't need new shit. I'm just hitting yard sales.
And none of that shit ever got me laid like they said it would.
Ads are effective at communicating how other people will view your purchase
Ads are extremely effective in aggregate though it's difficult to impossible to assign value to any individual ad. Targeted ads are popular because they are more directly attributable to purchases, but it's also likely that other ads led you towards that decision as well.
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