First, TFA is a very poorly structured blog post. It meanders like the Mississippi river and doesn't properly support the points it tries to make. It makes assumptions that no grad student or wiki editor would get away with.
It's true, we pay in this way for much of our content. And we pay ceaselessly with distractions that have no relevance in our lives. Do we really need to see 17 ads for furniture stores, 36 ads for alcohol products and 7 ads for feminine intimate garments every day? Even if they are erotic, they are not part of our scheduled activities and they detract from our productivity. The problem is that companies believe that mass advertising will work for them. They are victims, just as we are, of the ad industry.
Now, here is the problem: All these companies are selling a commodity. None of them have a unique product or service. Their survival depends upon convincing people otherwise through advertising and SEO. They are 'me too' companies who jumped on some bandwagon. They sell cars or tacos or pest control in a market with many competitors. Apparently they never stopped to consider whether the market needed what they want to sell.
There are companies that sell commodities with a unique flair: Victoria Secret, Apple, Tesla and I hate to say it, Nike. They really have elevated a category of products above the crowd. Is it the product or is it the branding that makes it interesting?
If you are/have a company you can avoid the mass advertising circus by offering something unique. Something not obtainable elsewhere. Something that is needed or something (like an Apple watch) that people will covet. If you can't do this, please close your useless business and stop polluting the air with your advertising.