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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.
I'm the same way, but I end up buying something similar. Show me Wendy's and I'll eventually go to Burger King
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.
so just like crypto & AI: a ponzo scheme
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.
Brand recognition is important. I have heard for many ads they don't care if you pay attention so long as you hear/see it briefly, because you will be more likely to pick their product later when it's the name you recognise even (especially) if you don't remember why you know it.
We sometimes play a game around here where we'll turn off the volume during a commercial and try to guess what they're advertising. It's harder than you might imagine for unfamiliar ads.
so osmosis? kinda like the consensus people form from being on the internetverse - not knowing just where they picked a fact or perspective up from, but touting it as an obvious fact or perspective that everyone has
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.
As someone who owns Makita power tools, I feel personally attacked π
When was the last time you bought something you'd never heard of
As someone who uses ad blockers, almost every time i buy something. If i want something, I'll find it. I don't need marketing vermin telling me what I should want based on who gave them money. I also hate ads enough that i specifically avoid buying anything for which i have seen or heard an advertisement.
You go to the store with your eyes closed and pick at random I assume? Product packaging is advertising.
I'd say technically it is just product labeling, since I'm not forced to interact with between TV shows or games. Have you seen the NoName brand?
Also I regularly go to an Indian Grocery where packed are plain and I can't read the language, I spend a few bucks and get a good or bad surprise LOL.
Nope. Advertising is based on paying a third party. The company didn't pay someone else to show you that packaging when you didn't ask for it.
Happens all the time
All the time. When I actually need something, then I'll go do a bit of research on different products based on feedback from friends, and what people online say, then use that to inform what I buy. I can't think of any product I bought because it was advertised to me.
I canβt think of any product I bought because it was advertised to me.
i can however think of a lot of products that i refuse to buy because the ads were that fucking annoying
indeed
Given that Google generated more than 250 billion U.S. dollars in ad revenue in 2024, I'd say they must be pretty effective.
I believe that the revenue comes more from advertisers paying to advertise on Google than from people paying for the advertised products or services.
Those people wouldn't keep paying if they didn't find those ads effective. Not to mention there are methods to measure the efficacy of ads so they do know how well they work.
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/
many dont disclose if what they do is sponsored
I assume they all are. If they say "OK so I just got and..." I immediately disregard anything they have to say.
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.
I mean, you're not alone. I got so fed up with ads because it was always junk I needed but couldn't afford, or shit I already knew existed and had otherwise already acquired with satisfactory results. Not to mention ads following me around. I hated being haunted by a pair of sneakers across four websites.
It's not paranoia if you're right, dammit.
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.
I must have no interests or needs, because I have never bought anything from an ad.
I actively avoid any product seen in ads. My friend down the street falls for every gimmicky TV ad.
Yeah, I had and have coworkers like that. One guy would have a router, then a new one would come out with claims of being faster so he'd buy that even though he was on ahitty low DSL at the time. I'm like dude your internet provider can't send it to you any quicker, so the next level 100 mbps to 1000mbps to 2.5gig Ethernet router isn't helping when you only have one computer and terrible download speed.
My other coworker buys every gadget, including shakeweights lol
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.