I always buy the cheapest option on the shelf (in terms of food). Usually that's the store brand for the store I am in. For electronics I usually just do a lot of research (Reddit, looking into age of the company, picture reviews and 1 star complaints) and ask friends. I'm sure that the "ads" shown in my research sway me sometimes though when I'm truly clueless about something and just have to take people's word for it.
Sometimes, though, the people you're trusting to be objective have been swayed by ads themselves! It's honestly impossible IMO to be completely unaffected by ads because of that. Even if you never see an ad in your life -- the people around you have.
Only some states offer free healthcare for people under certain income thresholds without other qualifications such as being disabled or pregnant. There has been progress with states finally accepting the Medicaid expansion, and there are often "low-income healthcare options" available, but A LOT of people are unfortunately still unable to get coverage because they're too poor.