Really? Wow. I have no way of really knowing for sure but I am pretty convinced that they reached maximum saturation of their user base 10 years ago... That's why there was this sudden whiplash pivot to forcing Indian, Pakistani, and the European content to the front page.
I saw that as the indicator that the North American market had been penetrated as far as they were going to penetrate, and they were looking abroad.
Now with what you're telling me it's making me question reality, I don't think there's a person on the planet that isn't aware of reddit, I think people just don't want to use it anymore!
Question, where have you noticed these advertisements?