We need to start a collective action where audiences punish advertisers. How can we lower the ROI on advertising as a society? Harass customer service lines with complaints about the advertisements? Organize focused boycotts of worst offenders? Form a journalistic non-profit that investigates unethical and illegal business practices, ordering targets by ad spend?

Maybe we should mock friends and acquaintances that purchase things that are advertised in annoying or manipulative ways.

Ads are stupid, and being influenced by them should be socially embarrassing in the same way that participating in MLMs is.