I know there's lots of empirical studies and literature on this

I believe the rationale is even if say 90% of the viewers who wouldn't buy the product anyway are now less likely to buy the product, That's considered a zero.

However if you're positively influencing the purchasing decisions on that remaining 10%, then it might be money well spent.

Thus the advertising may not affect specifically you but because this is a broadcast style exposure, that doesn't matter

Everyone buys stuff from phones to food.

I think the logic is flawed in thinking this way too. Most products have an overwhelming amount of choice. If you are not in the market for that category of product then the advertisement is not aimed at you. Even if you were annoyed by the the advertisement at that particular moment in time, if you are ever in the market for that category of product then the product will have brand recognition over its competitors and that is what is so huge and valuable.

IMO it is quite like the classic example of the heuristic that there is no such thing as bad press.

Nah, that's long term planning and capital doesn't do that. The incentives are at short term maximization at all costs, including long term stability

Yes but barely. I consider myself a person on whom advertising doesn't work. But then I would prefer international brands in an unfamiliar city simply because I'm getting exactly the experience or the product I already know. But IMO that's not because they advertise out of literally everything, it's because they're international, the consistency is one of the primary benefits of that. (although US McDonald's did disappoint me)

People just like to tell themselves it doesn't work on them because it makes them sound more intelligent. I've yet to actually meet a single person in my life that advertising didn't work on. You just have to talk them through how they decided on the things they own and before long they start to realise the truth.

I never bought an advertised product in my life. If any of the brands I buy starts advertising Im going to look for something else. I look for things, it’s not the other way around.

That sounds almost impossible? Unless you're Amish or something like that.

I suppose they're being a little hyperbolic but honestly plenty of folks just buy off brand generic products at ALDI. Pretty easy to avoid advertised stuff if you just shop at discounters. Popular here in Germany even among people who are well off.

Aldi advertise.

Cudos for you. I try something similar, I do not buy a product if I believe I saw its ads. It is a light version of your strategy (I'm not going to watch ads to know what is advertised and what isn't), but even it doesn't work in all cases. For example, my cat eats advertized food now. Not all of it though, but dry food is advertized.

This is one of the most obviously nonsense statements I’ve ever seen made.

You've never had any major brand of pop, ever?

Ok, I admit I was once a gullible teenager but luckily I didnt have any money then.

Probably tons of things you are missing out on.

Some of the most life-changing products I own were shown to me in an ad. Might not have bought that exact item, but the knowledge of that type of product even existing?!

Mindblowing.

Yeah its kinda the same like torture.

If advertising gives people a negative association with a particular brand, I highly doubt it would increase the odds of those people making a purchase.

Otherwise, Firestone should have seen an increase in tire sales after all the free advertising they got on the news. Instead, though, Firestone tire sales fell off a cliff.

I recently threw away a coupon for a product specifically because I saw a few too many extremely annoying online ads for this product, and now I can't stand the brand. They poisoned my image of them.