Ads don't actively persuade you to buy something immediately. They plant the information in your mind so that one day when you need to buy something, the first thing that comes to mind is the advertised product. Targetted ads try to shorten this period by guessing what you might need in the shortest term. Autists simply miss the information if they're not paying attention.
Oh, we're paying attention, we're just so insulted that such a pathetic attempt to incept us is what passes for acceptable marketing from multi-billion dollar corporations that we'll gladly buy the brand that didn't advertise simply because it knew to leave well enough alone.
Ads both plant information and attempt to persuade. How much effort went into each and how effective they are varies wildly. Furthermore, there are multiple reasons autistic persons aren't as suseptible to advertisements; it is true that different things tend to get our attention, but it's also true that we find some arguments to be less persuasive. For example "I did this thing and my life is amazing" is far less likely to influence an autistic person than a neurotypical one.
"Tell me what your product is and why I should buy it"
"Buzzword buzzword appeal to emotion happy white suburban family sugary jingle product in frame for like 1 second"
"... what are you selling and why should I buy it??"
The biggest problem with modern advertising is that they try to sell you on the idea before establishing what the idea even is. More often than not they're not even selling a product so much as a lifestyle which will never apply to you, so why should you even care in the first place?
The biggest problem with modern advertising is that they try to sell you on the idea before establishing what the idea even is.
This is definitely a running theme with ads, in fact there has been multiple instances where I have seen an ad, and despite seeing the entire duration I literally have no idea what was actually been advertised to me haha.
I can certainly see that as the case for impulse purchases.
What baffled me was a stretch where I was getting banner ads for a particular company's multi million dollar yachts. I was wondering who in the world would be swayed by such a frivolous thing as a banner ad for such a gigantic purchase.