Sometimes it feels like the American economy, the tech sector at least certainly, is basically just a series of pyramid schemes that are all sort of loosely connected and propping each other up.
I've had this thought, but was never able to put it so succinctly. The whole industry is rich people paying other rich people way too much money to advertise an item that everyone in the world knows exists... It's weird.
As with all garbage scam ads, for time immemorial, they are garbage on purpose. Why waste your time with vaguely credulous people, when you can narrow it down to the most vulnerable and incredulous population possible?
You don't fall for the obvious scam because you aren't the target. Your grandpa, or your neurodiverse friend, are the target.
this genre of advertisment pablum nonsense is designed to work on minds already softened by the background inanity of "legitimate" content. i've especially noticed recently ads that encourage the target to self-identify into some kind of incomprehensible subcategory within an existing identity based on neurotype or body type or personality type. the ones i get are all about fictional "types" of ADHD.