Why not advertise the best items, the product leaders that will draw people in. Many people think that advertising is marketing. Or that advertising is selling. You can use it to communicate what a product is, how it will fill a need or enhance life, how much it costs and where the buyer can get it. You can use it to differentiate a product or develop an image.
Good advertising can create traffic, interest or an image.
It can even position your product in relation to the competition. But, by itself, advertising can't create a sale. Because the other marketing components have to work with it. This could, arguably, be an exception. If this myth was true, then some ad executive somewhere would have the secret to success.