# Targeted Ad Failures (do you get ads for things that aren't relevant to you in the slightest?) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** commercials-ads\ **Created:** [October 22, 2026, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targeted-ad-failures-do-you-get-ads-for-things-that-arent-relevant-to-you-in-the-slightest/1034066 "2026-10-22T15:45:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2026, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targeted-ad-failures-do-you-get-ads-for-things-that-arent-relevant-to-you-in-the-slightest/1034066/41 "2026-10-26T01:14:39Z")
What I get, usually several a day, are emails inviting me to submit a paper for one of those pseudo-journals. They live by charging the authors to publish so they can pad their CVs. They always claim to be refereed (even if they will publish 5 minutes after you pay) and indexed in the standard indexing publications. And they are in any subject under the sun, rarely having anything to do with math. And they come to an old email address I haven’t used in 20 years, and probably exists only to forward to my current one. But I don’t want to filter them out because I get an occasional email from an old acquaintance using that address. Oddly enough, I don’t seem to get ads on FaceBook at all even though I read it nearly every day. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2026, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targeted-ad-failures-do-you-get-ads-for-things-that-arent-relevant-to-you-in-the-slightest/1034066/42 "2026-10-26T03:31:49Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > But _they_ don’t know that! “They don’t… right…?” 😬 ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2026, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targeted-ad-failures-do-you-get-ads-for-things-that-arent-relevant-to-you-in-the-slightest/1034066/43 "2026-10-26T03:56:36Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > A few years ago, I used to get Youtube ads advertising a video of a Star Wars-themed burlesque show called _The Empire Strips Back_. I was watching a lot of videos about video games, so they certainly had the approximately correct nerd demographic. But how many people are there really out there willing to fork over $20+ for a very specific video of topless women? Still have the link, you do? Share them with us, you must. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2026, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targeted-ad-failures-do-you-get-ads-for-things-that-arent-relevant-to-you-in-the-slightest/1034066/44 "2026-10-26T15:29:34Z")
I sell a lot of stuff on eBay, so i usually look up the prices first. This ends up with me getting tons of ads for things i am trying to get rid off. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2026, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targeted-ad-failures-do-you-get-ads-for-things-that-arent-relevant-to-you-in-the-slightest/1034066/45 "2026-10-26T15:31:53Z")
My wife was… ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2026, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targeted-ad-failures-do-you-get-ads-for-things-that-arent-relevant-to-you-in-the-slightest/1034066/46 "2026-10-27T18:23:50Z")
I’ve started getting ads for a product used by dental technicians to make implants (“with E-Z tongue filler!”) and wow is that a giant WTF in my life. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2026, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targeted-ad-failures-do-you-get-ads-for-things-that-arent-relevant-to-you-in-the-slightest/1034066/47 "2026-10-27T20:34:14Z")
Same with the ads I get for private jets. I mean, I have a little money, but not private jet money. Not even Cessna 172 money. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2026, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targeted-ad-failures-do-you-get-ads-for-things-that-arent-relevant-to-you-in-the-slightest/1034066/48 "2026-10-28T18:19:59Z")
Heyyyyy I just got one for “recycling solutions for nail polish bottles” which is pretty darn specific. I haven’t set foot in a salon in years, let alone manage/run/own one. (This thread is fun!) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2026, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targeted-ad-failures-do-you-get-ads-for-things-that-arent-relevant-to-you-in-the-slightest/1034066/49 "2026-10-28T21:37:31Z")
I’m back on the “tactical” track. Got an ad for a coffee cup that looks like a AR-15, and to go with it, “tactical” coffee, umpteen different holsters and attachments to carry in your car, body armor, armor reinforced backpacks, “tactical” pants with lots of pockets, and more I’ve forgotten. There must be a lot of money to be made off military fetishists. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targeted-ad-failures-do-you-get-ads-for-things-that-arent-relevant-to-you-in-the-slightest/1034066/50 "2026-10-29T04:44:32Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > There must be a lot of money to be made off military fetishists. Yeah, there must be. I get a lot of those, too. The perennial one I’m offered seems to be a company selling a laser round for practicing your handgun skills. I don’t own a handgun. Also, there’s a company selling a “tactical hoodie”. I might actually be interested in the product (hey, I like extra pockets, sue me) if their commercials weren’t so stupid and annoying. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targeted-ad-failures-do-you-get-ads-for-things-that-arent-relevant-to-you-in-the-slightest/1034066/51 "2026-10-29T16:46:11Z")
I was just browsing the Dope on my phone, and got an ad for “Water truck hose reels – tough hose reels for jobsite use”. That seems like a fairly niche product used by construction crews, which is not even close to my line of work. Granted, it looks like the ad was actually for a site that sells truck accessories, but even then I do not have a truck, and wouldn’t need those sorts of accessories for it if I did. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targeted-ad-failures-do-you-get-ads-for-things-that-arent-relevant-to-you-in-the-slightest/1034066/52 "2026-10-30T12:13:32Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Also, there’s a company selling a “tactical hoodie”. I might actually be interested in the product (hey, I like extra pockets, sue me) if their commercials weren’t so stupid and annoying. I might have been interested in that had I seen it, _last week_. I needed a new rain jacket but I couldn’t find one with a hood and zippered pockets. (Why would you even make a water tight raincoat with open pockets?) I finally found one at the second store I went to. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targeted-ad-failures-do-you-get-ads-for-things-that-arent-relevant-to-you-in-the-slightest/1034066/53 "2026-11-08T20:09:05Z")
Bumped because I got a new one. Do you often lose your semi trailers in your ginormous freight yard? and spend too much time hunting them down so the hostler can find it and back it up to the loading dock? Costing you and the long haul drivers time and money? Me neither. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targeted-ad-failures-do-you-get-ads-for-things-that-arent-relevant-to-you-in-the-slightest/1034066.md?page=2)