Building on this, I also want to warn against the attitude that ‘ads don’t work on me’. A lot of people seem to think that they have some kind of mental filtering system such that they are immune to manipulation. They sometimes talk about how they deliberately make a point of not buying from some company who advertised in a way they didn’t like, or whatever.
I’ll just say this: you don’t have a special power. The ads do work. Maybe not every ad has the effect that you think they are aiming for, and not ever ad is targeting you. But if you are exposed to advertising, then it will affect how you think - and some of the people making these ads are serious experts with lot of research to help them manipulate your habits and behaviour. It’s a type of social technology that has advanced over time. It’s better to avoid it rather than assume you are immune.