[Razengan]

The advertising industry is a cancer upon human civilization and should be abolished.

Literally no one is going to speak out in favor of this plague except the people whose livelihoods depend upon perpetuating it.

Not even hyperbole: Ask anyone if ads are annoying or not. Unless they’re making money from ads, the answer will be Yes.

[gdulli]

Usually I mute TV commercials, but one time I had them on and I found out from a commercial that Nightmares on Wax was coming to my town soon.

I had no idea, I don't follow music news. But I bought tickets immediately. I love them and I'd never seen them live before.

It was one of the best concerts I've ever been to. And I'd have missed it without advertising.

This is an outlier experience, but it shows that advertising can be a positive when it's not perverted by all of the things that currently make it terrible.

Sometimes there's a gap in our knowledge of what products, services, events are available. I can remain skeptical of the specific claims made in ads while benefitting from finding out, oh, there's a new pizza place near me, I should try it.

Ads are more annoying than useful, and tracking me needs to stop. But as usual, the most extremist view (positive or negative) is not the most useful one.

[Razengan]

So one time it was useful to you out of all the time you have lost to ads so far.

[gdulli]

No, that's just the only anecdote I told. But the experience of going to one great concert makes up for a year's worth of ad impressions that I ignored and did me no material harm.