From context, the OP likes it because it provides evidence that surveillance efforts against them are failing.

For me, a second reason to prefer them is that ads are noise. If the semantic content of that noise stays irrelevant, it is easier to ignore.

People can have a ton of other reasons, like avoiding temptation.

My turn - genuine question: did you honestly not know people feel this way?

I am not totally against targeted advertising when I am being targeted based on my activity on that site, but I find it really creepy when ads are targeted based on things I've done outside of the internet, or conversations I've had. I don't like the idea that my activity unrelated to a specific site is being stored somewhere and sold to companies that could theoretically use it for whatever they want.

I don't mind supporting companies by not blocking ads on a page, but I do mind being "followed" by them around the internet and IRL.

My perspective - I do not want to see ads relevant to my interests. If I want to buy something that I care about I'll do my own due diligence for what a good product is. I don't want to be lied to and distracted by junk marketing trying to convince me I should buy something.

Irrelevant ads are way easier to ignore. It's so off-target that your mind doesn't even loose a cycle trying to make sense of it. Then you get so used to not paying attention that the occasional relevant ad gets ignored too.

In short, this allows me to strengthen my focus. Even though this all happens semi-unconsciously, it makes me more immersed in the content I'm actively trying to pay attention to.

Simply because things I'm not interested in don't look interesting and therefore don't distract me.

Let's say I like cars and I don't care for travelling.

If both sides of the page are background image of a car, I will check what car it is because I like cars. If it's a huge picture of a beach I won't even notice because I don't care for beaches.

Not op but I'll answer:

Advertising works, on everyone, including on me.

No matter how hard I try to not be affected by advertising, I can't stop it from working.

Now, with that said, if I have the option to be exposed to an advertisement for a category of products that I am likely to purchase anywhay, or a category that I will never purchase: Isn't it obvious that my behaviour is more likely to be influenced by the relevant add than the irrelevant one?

Some people might think that the word "brainwashing" is too strong to be used for describing advertising, and maybe it is, but is it really that strange that I would prefer a tiny amount of "brainwashing" over a small amount?

I can't speak for the person you're replying to, but for me it's a sign that the advertising brokers/sellers don't know enough about me to advertise intelligently. Therefore they have less of my data (or less specific/identifying/informative data), which is a good thing for several reasons that have been discussed many times on this forum.

Worse advertising is a sacrifice I'm willing to make (as much as I do really like ads for things that are on sale when I happen to need them).

The ads can be made relevant relative to website's content, not my previous activity. If I'm reading a tutorial on how to fix something there may be ads for tools that are required for that. This is very relevant to me and at the same time does not need any information about my previous browsing history or other activities.

On the other hand, when I'm later visiting pornhub I'm unlikely to consider purchase of those tools even though they may appear relevant to my interests based on my previous browsing history. On the other hand, I am more likely to be interested in meeting hot moms from my area then - which is again solely context based.

It's not only about the relevancy of advertisements.

I'm sure they'd prefer or even like advertisements that are relevant from page content NOT invasive personal tracking or profiling.

IE: You go to a bathtub website and see an ad for rubber ducks and soap because those products make sense with bathtubs, not with the users browsing history.

Sadly, sacrificing relevancy is currently the only move to speak out about tracking, as a consumer.

I want sensible target advertising. As both a consumer and once shop owner I find the advert to be very powerful. The problem is I think current was of Digital Data Gathering and target advertising is going way off track.

I dont have a solution, as often it is with all these questions, but I hope there is a better way going forward.

Not GP, but: for me it’s never been about the ads. Poorly targeted ads are a sign that the advertising companies don’t have that much data on me, which is what I really care about.

Neither of those things you described are useful to me in any way. I would prefer the one that has respect for my privacy.