I consistently see marketing and advertising where I learn about events, products, or services I did not know about before. While researching potential products, I read through marketing websites (a form of ad) of different offers. I buy things on Amazon, which requires me to read through product descriptions, which are also ads for what the seller is selling.

Agreed that there is too much machine-gun advertising and you see more than you need. However, I learned to appreciate good advertising while at the same time not letting the irrelevant ads ruin my day.

source: personal experience and sample size of 1. At the same time, I am not some weirdo and other people see the same ads and marketing materials, and it's not unreasonable to think that they also derive some value from them.

> I'd certainly like to know when my favourite bands are playing or get an alert when something I'm after is on sale

If you ever had this happen, that's another case to cite for non-intrusive and useful advertising.