The New York Times has yet another entry in the "Ads are everywhere because advertisers are desperate for your attention" genre. The gist is that because people are so unpredictable nowadays it's better just to throw ads on anything that doesn't run away from you because it *might* be seen. The problem, of course, is that by doing so they've effectively turned ads into part of the landscape - and a part that doesn't get through the mental filters of people at that. That, in turn, leads to more and more outrageous ads that try to jumpstart people's attention.