The idea of buying something based on an advertisement and not a need is foreign to me. What is a kind of ad that you consider to be “relevant”? I just block all of them so I might just not be aware of the potential.
Just because you block ads doesn't mean you are immune to advertisements. How many of your interests are shaped by media campaigns. Even if you go and choose to buy things based on "need" (which I doubt). How do you choose which to buy of the various things that satisfy your needs? Maybe you go to one of many consumer reporting sites? Maybe you look at reviews? How do you know those are truly unbiased, they aren't most of the time.
Naturally, that’s true, but it wouldn’t affect my decision. If I could unilaterally ban billboard ads, I would; but the fact that certain kinds of ads are not block-able does not affect my decision to keep blocking other kinds of ads, and limiting the effectiveness of ads I can’t block.
No entity has the innate right to psychologically manipulate me into contributing to its bottom line.
> Naturally, that’s true, but it wouldn’t affect my decision
Your decision for what you buy or your decision to block ads? Which is completely beside the point of my comment. My point is that you are going to be manipulated whether you like it or not. That cute Bernie Sanders slogan, that "Eat the rich" slogan, all the beautiful art produced by your favorite political cause, it's all psychological manipulation by your definition (and it is). And by that point, all human interaction is manipulation.
I wonder.. I don't think that applies to everyone.
Most of the stuff I buy is either commodity (clothes, always the same t-shirts, pants, shoes, my colleagues joke it's my 'uniform'), food, or weird-ass stuff that nobody advertises for. Like second hand computers or electronic components to build cool stuff.
And reviews I usually get in depth from other users on tech forums like XDA and local ones. Before I buy a phone I know pretty much every little thing there is to know about it :) Not just the gloss, all the annoying bugs too.
The only thing I buy that's really advertising sensitive is games I think. Or some hacker/maker stuff you'd see on hackaday. I know advertising affects me. But I'm pretty certain not a lot of my purchasing is driven by advertising.
I've seen a comment like this quite a few times now and I am curious: what exactly is the goal of pointing out that advertisement affects your life somehow, to someone who said they can't think of a relevant ad? It's not like they claimed they're immune to advertisement. They just can't think of a relevant ad, and I'm in the same boat, unless you twist the implied definition of "an ad" enough; a common trait for these threads is to start attacking the "marketing doesn't affect me" straw man, which is of course easy to attack when you go down the everything is marketing line of thought.
Quite likely, if you twist the implied meaning of "an ad" enough.
I'd take it for granted that zwkrt is not talking about reviews and glowing endorsements and sponsored videos or placement on store shelves or .. you get the idea. They're talking about ads! The crap that surrounds the real so-called content when you try to read an article without an adblocker. The nonsense that interrupts a movie on TV (or any video on YouTube) every three minutes. The trash results that gets a special place in front of all the other trash when you search on Google. All unsolicited, not sought for. I'd say if uBlock Origin doesn't block it, then it likely isn't an ad in the sense zwkrt means?
Buying something after seeking out reviews and seeing one that was biased and paid for could happen but it's not necessarily happening to everyone, and it's probably not what the fellow upstream meant when they said they find buying things based on an advertisement foreign.
It's usually more that the ad results in someone buying something they were already planning to buy from you instead of someone else. There's pretty much 3 types of online advertising, Intent based where you show an add when someone is actively searching for a place to buy the thing, remarketing where you show an add because you were able to detect they were shopping for it recently, and then the window shopping ones which just show you things you might be interested in (these are the lowest converting) Online ads objectively work though. Online ads basically drive the revenue of millions of small and medium sized businesses.
An ad that is “relevant” to me is an ad that leads me to think “yes, this item is exactly what I was looking for”. Sometimes you know you want to buy something (let’s say a backpack) but you don’t know which brand/model to go for.
This is where ads come in: a backpack company can run ads that should be shown to people interested in buying backpacks, and it’s potentially a win-win: you find a cool item that you buy, and the company gets a new customer.
It's only really a win-win if the backpack was the best choice you could have made if you were fully informed about the entire market.
And that best choice is probably from the manufacturer that spends the most on making their product. Not the one spending the most on advertising. This undermines the win-win concept.
While some ads drive impulse purchases, much ads are getting brands into your decision consideration.
E.g When you need something of you have 100's of options. If you saw an ad previously it now might be 1 of several products you compare as you are aware and familiar. The product still has to impress you on price and quality etc but the ad drove you to consider it. That is hugely important in a crowded marketplace. Also that ad might have shifted you perception of quality or features.
And ultimately 'need' is a very subjective thing. I highly doubt if you look around your house there is nothing you couldn't throw away and not get on with life as normal. Ads can make you feel like you need something at the time. That's why so many ads rely on fear based propositions, this emotion is strong in creating need like showing negative events for insurance.
I don't particularly want to be tracked and generally block as much as it pratically possible (browser plugins, piholes etc.), but I occasionally encounter useful ads (for example an interesting temporary exhibition I wouldn't have known about, the reprinting of a book that I had been looking for or a better offer for some service that I'm already paying for).
