[reubeniv]

Possibly projecting here, but I think adverts work, but by giving people a push towards something they already wanted/thought, more taking advantage of our lack of impulse control and a tendency to lean towards confirmation bias, I don't think they change minds or brainwash people like it's sometimes implied.

[whoopdedo]

Another way advertising works is by tickling the "TIL" part of our brains. Beginning in infancy humans react to experiences that are unique or peculiar. If we see something new or not normal we immediately want to know more about it.

It's why I think targeted advertising is a bit of a scam. Yes, it's neat that we can do that now and the conversion is outstanding. But what's the real value in advertising for Widgets to people already actively shopping for Widgets? I show 50k ads and get sales off 40% of them, that's good compared to another strategy that only works 10% of the time that I'd have to buy 200k for the same result. Except, how many of that 50k were going to buy my Widget anyway had I not advertised? Whereas 150k of the second set had no idea I sold Widgets or even what a Widget was until I told them. Looks like there's more value in increasing my customer base by spreading a wider net with a lower conversion.