If they asked me, I would tell them that there is no such thing as a relevant ad. Even if I'm shopping for a specific product, if an ad gets through my defenses I stop shopping. If I see an ad for your brand, I will avoid your brand.
Pretty much. Ads tell me that something exists. I don't entirely reject products whose ads I happen to see, but I do rate them inversely proportional to the scope of their claims.
And it's not just obvious ads. You can't trust online customer reviews, because there's an industry devoted to spamming them, both positively and negatively.
And you can't trust third-party reviews, because they're often disguised press releases. Or biased by payment. For example, I've been told that many sites that review VPN services basically auction their rating slots.
Negative reviews are also used put down competitors' products, blackmail free products or services, and in so many other ways that only humans can invent. The reviews are less reliable every passing year.
Some platforms have awakened to this, so they have rules or guides what to do when customer tries to blackmail free stuff with negative reviews. However, not all.
The most useful ads are for something I didn't even know existed before seeing it. I've often bought things to improve my life that before seeing the ad I didn't know existed.
You'll have a hard time shopping for groceries then. Besides displays with ads on them, brands pay big money for preferential placement on shopping aisles. Same for the order of product listings on Amazon etc.
