Ads are bifurcating, not evolving

Advertising is splitting into two incompatible futures.

One path is already obvious: low-funnel, intent-driven commerce. Amazon is the archetype.You express intent, the system completes the action then takes a cut.

The other path is much less clear: brand, meaning, trust, emotional resonance. The top of the funnel. This used to be the job of media buying.

Creators have been absorbing that role by default. Not as channels, but as sources of legitimacy, taste, and cultural gravity.