In terms of cost of an ad to earnings, and how well, even a targeted ad, can hold a viewer’s attention. Have we just become numb to ads? Does targeted advertising actually yield better results?
When was the last time you bought something you’d never heard of
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.
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.
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
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.
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 formany ads they don’t care if you pay attention so long as you hear/see it briefly, because you will be more likely ti pick their product later when it’s the name you recognise even (especially) if you don’t remember why you know it.
Ads were effective in that they caused me to stop watching tv soooo… 🤷
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/
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.
Ads are effective at communicating how other people will view your purchase
