We're in muddy waters here, and I can't be sure you're not correct that you're one of those rare individuals who's invulnerable to advertising. But I'd advise you to not get complacent, because most of these techniques exploit complacency and disbelief in psychological manipulation.

"I wouldn't know. I can't remember the last thing I bought..." should sound alarm bells. Even if you checked out an item in Consumer Reports, how did you hear about it in the first place? What sent you to Consumer Reports? You can't look for a review for something you don't know exists, somehow you learned about those products you checked out.

You describe your defenses--not reading ads in the paper, Tivoing over ads--but remember that the advertisers are fully aware of consumer defenses, and the focus in advertising in recent years has been about defeating those defenses. You see product placement in the shows now, specifically to defeat Tivo, as well as in movies, knowing that eventually they'll show up in video. On the Web there's now "interstitial advertising", ads between pages that you have to view before getting to the material you want. There's a good reason that advertisers are always on the lookout for something to brand with their logos and ads, even seemingly absurd things like Space Shuttles. If the advertisers are spending billions on it, is it safe to assume that they're not getting their money's worth?

On the question of not seeing ads in newspapers, don't be so sure. Our eyes capture entire scenes at once, and whether you're conscious of a particular feature of a scene or not, it does get into your brain. The Merc routinely has a two-full-page spread in the middle of section A, and I always flip rapidly past it; but guess what? I still remember that it alternates between clothing and home furnishings. I absorbed something of what I thought I skipped.

If you're aware only of ads in obvious places like newspapers and TV, it suggests you might not be noticing the ubiquity of advertising. Get outside the house, and buses have advertising, billboards have advertising, newspaper kiosks have advertising, everything you buy has secondary advertising for something else...advertising is pretty much slapped on anything that can't run away fast enough. Advertising is our modern graffiti.

I saved Exhibit A for last, because I know it won't go down well: Political rhetoric and advertising clearly pushes your buttons. You pride yourself on coming to your conclusions independently and through rigorous logic and research...but doesn't it give you pause that you end up remarkably well-aligned with the GOP's official rhetoric?

I won't beat that horse, and hope you'll focus on the other arguments, but you might consider it, even if you don't have to admit in public that you're thinking about it.