Its "mostly ad free" when you pay more. See the very last FAQ, "Will all shows and movies be commercial free?" at
https://help.hulu.com/articles/52427902. It's ad free unless it isn't.
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We have made it part of normal discussion. When they were younger it was mostly about ensuring they could distinguish between entertainment and sales, but now that they are getting older so we get to have deeper conversations. We took the bus the other day and talked about why we saw specific adverts posted above the seats. Why would a company advertise on a bus instead of TV? Who were they trying to speak with? Yes, sometimes it's awkward, such as when they noticed a male ED drug was being advertised towards women. They have also gotten good at identifying ads in content, although I will admit that the Truman Show really helped make that point. Of course, we also have to ask them if something is actually a product placement or is simply a functional product placement as a tool to make a scene more relatable.
To be clear, we don't hate on advertising, we just want our girls to see it for what it is. It's ok to buy something because someone else convinced you that a product would be helpful if you agree it would be and it's worth the cost. We just want to be sure they can measure those things. The hardest part in managing ads today is remembering if it was a friend or an ad who told you something was good. If you hear/see it enough times it doesn't matter because all you remember is the packaging, or name, or some distinguishing feature that makes their brand less risky. I would like them to be in the habit of evaluating adverts, especially the tricky embedded ones, as soon as they are exposed to them so they have a better shot of making an unbiased decision when it comes to wanting to buy a product.
