First, I agree on the spam attack. I suffered one myself here. Edit: Just saw Ian's comment. In my case, I just used the report button, and the spam got removed.
But, I don't necessarily agree such attacks are ineffective. They must have a degree of effectiveness, or they wouldn't continue and multiply. I have been wondering about why something so obnoxious can be so effective in the end. When I was very young, I read The Hucksters (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hucksters). It would be an exaggeration to say that book warped my life, but there are some lessons in it that I never forgot. For example, why do all cake mixes require the "little woman" to add an egg, when in fact, no one can tell the difference between a cake made with mix with a fresh egg and one with a dried egg included in the mix.
In brief, I think that an annoying spammer knows you will be more prone to recollect its name and not the circumstances surrounding that recollection should you decide to order its product category in the
intermediate future. Thus, the spammer gets an edge over otherwise anonymous competitors. Obviously, if you were to buy a bunch of boards tomorrow, that memory might work to the spammer's disadvantage. But will you remember the circumstances and hold the same grudge in a year or two?
Automobile ads with expanding banners and popups are another grievance of mine. But I will say, that the VW ads in particular made me actually consider a VW this year when I bought a new car. I did not in the end buy a VW, but that was not because of the ads.
John