No, I’m talking about the advertising dollars. You’re taking about something else. Ultimately the amount of attention at any given moment is fixed yet the amount of money that be spent pursuing such attention is unlimited.

Just because money being spent has a positive ROI doesn’t mean advertisements are not zero sum.

By your logic ads can be a disruptive experience and hence negative sum. In fact I’d be surprised if isn’t the case. Most people find ads to be annoying.