Ads work. I work in advertising now and I see how the current economic climate has impacted the industry: ad spend always is one of the first expenses to be cut, and the trends I see in cutting today suggest to me that what we are seeing is not a long-term, secular trend.

And I do not understand why people keep talking about AdBlock. Statistically, few people use it. Most people see ads and react to them.

Generally, people are much more susceptible to non-rational psychological impact campaigns than they realize or admit. But it is true that advertising is slowly adapting to new mechanisms.