I definitely bought a lot of things because of ads. Not directly though, I don’t go around clicking on online ads even if one slips through the blocker.

Just being exposed to the idea that some product exists is an ad. Reviews and comparisons. Seeing a brand name in the wild. A product being recommended by someone I consider an authority in that specific field.
It all provenly works on me.

And I don’t really regret it, how else would I even find out what exists? Go to the store and just buy whatever the seller recommends? Did people do that in the past before mass advertising?

Edit: I just realized this is exactly what Amazon is trying to do. Push generic “amazon option” products which have no independent sales outside of the platform.