Why you keep seeing the same ad

First, identify what is repeating

Are you seeing the identical image, several ads for the same product, or different businesses selling similar products? Those are different observations. A broad feeling of ‘the same ad everywhere’ can hide a mixture of platforms, advertisers, and designs, making a control seem less effective than it actually is.

You do not need a detailed tracking spreadsheet. A private note with the platform, advertiser name, and a short description is enough to frame the question. Avoid repeatedly loading ads to gather examples. Record what you naturally encounter, and do not click a promotion just to identify its seller.

Frequency limits belong to advertising systems

Google Ads offers frequency capping for Display and Video campaigns. Advertisers can limit exposures within supported campaign settings and time periods. This is not a single consumer-controlled limit covering every advertiser, platform, and device. A cap on one campaign should not be interpreted as a cap on an entire product category.

Google also documents differences in how cookies, signed-in users, and devices are used for these counts. You cannot infer a campaign’s configured cap from a handful of sightings. If an ad appears frequently, the available observation is repetition—not that you have reached a particular interest score or that someone is watching your browsing live.

Source: Google: Frequency capping

Why an ad can appear after a block

Google notes that a similar ad can be a different version and that another company may serve ads on other sites. It also acknowledges that blocking is imperfect. A report is not itself a block. These distinctions help explain why ‘I reported it yesterday’ does not establish that an identical appearance today violates the scope of a block you actually set.

Compare the provider and advertiser before concluding that your preference was ignored. If the same ad remains on the same platform, return to its menu and inspect the available block control. You can make the preference again if appropriate, but there is no benefit in repeatedly clicking the ad’s destination.

Source: Google: My Ad Center: frequently asked questions

Choose an action based on the pattern

For a single Google ad, open More or Info and look for Block ad; partner-site wording may be Stop seeing this ad. Options vary by placement and account state. Use a topic preference when the concern is a whole subject, and use a privacy control when the concern is the data used to select ads.

• One unwanted design: look for the ad’s block or hide option.
• One advertiser across several designs: inspect whether the platform offers advertiser-level controls.
• A recurring topic: review topic preferences and read their limits.
• A suspected deceptive claim: report it with specific details; hiding it serves a different purpose.

Source: Google: Control your ad experience

Measure whether your chosen action happened

A useful check is whether the setting saved under the intended account and whether its description addresses your concern. ‘I want fewer ads overall’ is different from ‘I want fewer ads about luggage.’ A topic control should be assessed against its stated purpose, rather than an expectation it never offered.

If the ad relates to something you recently bought, retargeting is one possible explanation. It is not the only one. Check the disclosure before attributing repetition to purchase data. You are allowed to find an ad irritating without proving any targeting theory: hiding it can be a complete, sensible response.

Do not judge a privacy setting using one later ad. Relevant subjects, similar designs, and repeated brands are visible outcomes; the complete inputs to delivery remain inside the platform.