Not an expert, but it seems the Holy Grail would be to make an advertisement relevant to the activity the person is currently doing, or things they are thinking about. At least then there's a better chance they'd remember it, if they in fact remember the thing at all. Like a tool that recommends a better tool when you try to do it for a job it's not intended for. I always wish I had a better chop saw when I'm using a circle saw for a too-large post, but when I see ads for chop saws I ignore them.

This is probably why there's this enduring trope about going to the hardware store and getting stuck for hours and walking out with too much stuff. You're already in the project mode and there to buy things you need. Very easy to grab just one more thing. Like, why is hobby lobby still a thing?

We have direct access to people's visual cortex and audio processing with handsets. Folks are receiving a stream of data tailored specifically to their life and experiences. It's pretty direct while still being indirect.

A simple example in legacy media is with Coca Cola. The ads show good experiences and attempt to anchor those emotions to real life events, and then the tag line Enjoy. So your enjoyment is tagged with having a Coke. Relatively straight forward.

These days, and this is still an emerging technology. Ads can be built and constructed on a per user basis. So rather than generalizing, you can synthetically anchor ideas onto individual real life emotions. And then at the right time have the systems massage in the idea of compulsively making a purchase. So while not strictly black and white spinning spiral. It's more interception at a particularly vulnerable moment. At least in my observations.