This can refer to literal advertisements that have been designed with you in mind, specifically. I have seen much of this. It is too subtle to know if you are not the target but it is designed to make the target aware.
Advertisements are used all the time. It seems like, especially the electronic ones, they have contracts with the predictive policing/surveillance network to show targeted ads to targets, displaying personalized ads or ads that are relevant to them. I’ve seen it where they will then switch the ad really quickly as I take my phone out to capture it too, switching it to a more normal ad.
This is true for regular billboards too though. I’ve seen personalized ones on hard billboard on routes that I have to take regularly, for instance. When I was travelling back and forth between VA and NC a lot while moving out of Newport News, they actually put up a billboard with a Doppelganger of my realtor, and another one on the same route named the person I was seeing at the time, saying “XXXXX pays $13/month” for whatever service they were advertising.
What to do?
Just don’t look, don’t interpret, look at something else, something YOU want to look at and think about. Do not give them your attention it is your next most precious resource next to after your time.
In their calculation, it was more beneficial for them if you looked and interpreted. That was their plan so just don’t, choose not to.
Date unknown February 23, 2026