It's like getting to know someone before deciding you don't like him. Not that advertising is empirically unlikable. I count some memorable moments in advertising as very influential events in my life. When Madge dipped her hands in the Palm-olive and showed no dishpan hands, my life was changed forever. A 30-second spot during the Bowl does cost a boatload of cash.
Advertising is a fat target, easily lambasted and judged without much thought or training.
Which, I'm told, is the whole point of this column. There is the important distinction between editorial content and advertising. It's fairly easily to see which is which, except those sneaky ads in the back of newspapers that lay out like an article. For example, a consumer is more likely to believe and trust a food critic talking about the merits of Skyline over Gold Star than the ads that show that annoying couple who give taste tests to Cincinnatians, all of whom remarkably prefer the taste of Gold Star. It's good to know that, after a lifetime of media exposure, folks know who pays that annoying couple.