We spend our lives trying to avoid adverts.
We pay extra to remove them, block them, mute them, skip them.
Then we fly thousands of miles to Times Square — the most aggressively advertised place on the planet — and stand there staring at screens.
Here’s the funny part:
I can’t remember a single advert I saw.
Not one brand. Not one product.
The only thing I remember is my wife mentioning Mean Girls — because it was something our daughter watched. That stuck. The million-dollar screens didn’t.
Which says a lot.
Times Square isn’t memorable because of what it’s selling.
It’s memorable because of the people you’re with, the throwaway comments, the shared moments — the stuff advertising can’t buy.
The irony is, the loudest ads in the world end up being background noise…
and the quiet human moments are what stay with you.