Well that's one anecdote, here's another:

My first ever online purchase was direct from an advert.

I needed 128mb more RAM, so I bought it from crucial. I knew of crucial because a gaming forum I visited had a single banner advert for crucial that never changed, so I always noticed it.

Advertising works, and even if you think it doesn't you're wrong. Every day you'll make purchasing decisions and often you'll tend toward products you recognise the name of. That process doesn't come from magic, it comes from advertising, the majority of which you'll not even notice.