Seen in a SF Muni station
Edit to add: Jeez, relax. I was on my way home from a doctor’s appointment and saw that ad. It made me chuckle so I posted it here.
If seeing this post really upsets you, take some deep breaths and keep scrolling. With any luck, you’ll have fully healed in a couple of days.
How would anyone be informed of something existing without telling people the product exists
that would be valid if ads were just “hello here is our product”, which they almost never are.
I agree that ads can help people be aware of a product’s existence, but I believe, especially at this stage when I am tired of being spoonfed, that a more organic way is preferable. For example - forums, product reviews (REAL ones ofc), product storefronts including online marketplaces…
When someone needs something, they can go looking for it. A door that grates on a frame for example, may be talked about on a forum, which discusses the products others have found to help. In this case a mouse(shaped) sander. The person can then follow breadcrumbs to the most convenient store that sells it.
This is actually the way I find most things I need. The vast majority of products shown to me, passively on various items in the streets or in video format, are useless to me. Regarding VPNs, I first learned about them when I looked for a solution to a website article having an error page stating that it cannot be viewed in my country. Again when I pirated movies. Eventually I saw Mullvad mentioned on Reddit, when I entered more FOSS and Linux spaces