I keep it offline in airplane mode permanently from 2016 and haven't seen a single ad in a long long time.
The ads are only shown while it's off, they're static black and white images, and 99% of the time they're for books. Totally unobjectionable.
If they were in the actual UI and for stuff like cars and perfume I might mind, but they aren't so I never cared.
Speak for yourself. Aside from the principle, some of us don’t want to be advertised to in the comfort of our own home/bed/while we’re camping or whatever. Ads don’t have to be actively flashing, spaz-inducing insanity to be objectionable.
Not to mention that by definition an ad like this WILL be seen and attended to, even if only momentarily. That in itself is also objectionable.
But what a sad world we live in…
I have my 2016 one setup without a password so when I open my cover the device unlocks, so I never really even see the ad unless I try.
And it’s an ad on the lock screen, not an ad interrupting your reading. I buy the ad free versions though.