My favorite ads are the ones for a product you already bought, because you had been searching the web for it.

Why settle for one dishwasher when you can have two for twice the price?

Me falling for an ad was what got me off Facebook. I have a leather jacket now.

Ads definitely do work, otherwise companies wouldn’t pay millions for them. Sometimes it’s less about influencing you to immediately make a purchase, and more about subconscious brand awareness.

I have a mental list of places i refuse to visit or purchase from because of advertisements. Doesn’t work for everything, but a radio ad for a a new shiny thing i don’t want… yeah, no thanks onto my list.

I’m ashamed to admit that seeing a lot of peloton ads in Hulu probably influenced me subconsciously, and I ended up buying an elliptical machine (not peloton) off Amazon. It’s collecting dust now.

I think they add a subliminal sense of legitimacy to brands. You might not even remember the ad or ads that ends up influencing the choice you make. That’s why I block every one of them that I can. We should also not ignore the influence of

1. People who like ads (they exist)
2. Big stupid idiots (see #1)

Back in the days of over-the-air television I’m sure plenty of toys and foods were sold by ads. As a kid you saw other kids playing with GI Joe toys and think “I want that!” Same sort of thing probably happens in game ads now. Even as an adult I consciously resist ads but I’m sure I have become aware of a few products/services via ads and later purchased them.

For a business ads can be one of the best ways to make potential customers aware of what your business offers. But like anything else, ads can be too little or too much, in terms of both content and cost. And it’s easy to get over-saturated with ads. Like YouTube when they want you to watch several ads for a 3 minute video. Sometimes the ads are longer than the video.