A better question, with a growing push for privacy, how can they keep ads from regressing?

There’s a lot more that goes into the ad space than just picking which ad to show you, and it’ obviously depends on who wants to reach you. For example, probabilistic attribution is an important component on confirming that you actually got the ad and took the action across multiple systems.

Also, since you mentioned it, TV ads tend to be less targeted because they’re not direct-action ads. Direct action ads exist in a medium where you can interact with the ad immediately. Those ads are targeted to you more, because they’re about getting you to click immediately.

TV ads are more about brand recognition or awareness. It’s about understanding the demographic who watches the show, and showing general ads to that group. Throw a little tracking in there for good measure, but it’s generally about reaching a large group of people with a common message.

You ask a great question, and I wonder how the push for more privacy will pan out (pardon the gold mining analogy). I am almost done with the very good new book The Tech Coup by Marietje Schaake, and I have also read Privacy is Power and Surveilance Capitalism. I think more of the public is waking up to the benefits of privacy.

All that said, I am an enthusiastic paying customer of YouTube Prime and Music, Colab (I love Colab), and sometimes GCP. For many years I have happily have told Google my music and YouTube preferences for content. I like to ask myself what I am getting for giving up privacy in a hopefully targeted and controlled way.