Answer:
I think advertising lead to popularity of certain things. If advertising didnt exist there would be one major company for a product because no other brands would stand a chance. Take raid shadow legends for example. It would probably be unheard of if they didnt have over 1000 content creators promoting their product. I think I am affected by advertising because sometimes I see an Arbys or Chick-fil-A commercial and it makes me crave their food. This makes me clearly more likely to buy it. Even an ad on a website that shows something that speaks my interest makes me want to buy their product more. Have I ever bought something just because I see an advertisement though? No.