This idea that there is a solution to every problem if you only knew about it is a hallmark of these things. A lot of products are solutions looking for a problem, and they work very hard to make you think you'll have a problem if you don't buy the product.

As an example, a pest control company canvassed one of my friends' cul-de-sacs and essentially threatened to send all the pests into his house by poisoning them and repelling them from all the neighbors. If you have a pest problem exclusion is usually cheaper and better than poison or repellent. My wife paid for trapping and control on her house for years and then I went around over the course of a couple of weeks and closed the gaps in her siding that were added by telecommunications companies like Verizon and AT&T and Comcast over the years. Mysteriously the pest problem went away after that.

So it's not always the case that the product being advertised is a net positive. Often it's net neutral or net negative. But the advertiser sure wants you to do it anyway.

Not all products and services are good, yes. But you don't spring forth from the womb knowing about all the good ones either.

I know ad and marketing folks tell themselves this to sleep at night, but it’s such a small factor in actual marketing and advertising that happens that it’s negligible.

That's what word of mouth is for. Ads and cold calls are not reliable sources of information, they are universally lies with some rare smidgen of truth sometimes hidden inside.

Ah yes, when I get together with my homies, I love to talk about B2B SaaS products.