Effectiveness of Advertising

Does advertising work? Seriously. As you try to reach more and more young people, are they smarter than your media channels? Can standard units work or do you need an army of influencers? If you can target pick-up truck owning men on the west coast who collect butterflies does it matter? What happens when you cannot target them (cookie/regulation/iOS)? We are going through a reinvention of digital advertising. For a decade, power has shifted towards the media buyer. In a world where targeting is less possible, will creative return to prominence? Your job is to build and grow massive brands. So now what?