I see a lot of comments claiming the right kind of marketing definitely works on nerds, and a lot of incensed "nerds" responding with "not me, not fazed by that

I see a lot of comments claiming the right kind of marketing definitely works on nerds, and a lot of incensed "nerds" responding with "not me, not fazed by that stuff." The first type of comment is looking at the aggregate, including all the people who don't read HN and who are somehow labeled as "nerds." The other type of comment draws conclusions from a sample population of one HN reader and their aggregate behavior over recent memory. I have definitely been moved by an ad once or twice in the past decade, and may have even made a small purchase because I thought the ad was brilliant. But I wouldn't say I generally respond well to advertising. Isn't this the scale of engagement that marketers expect? Something like ten thousand impressions yield one click? It seems to me both types of comment are looking at the same behavior through different lenses. Or am I underestimating the effectiveness of ads on other markets?