99% sure this is not a coincidence, here's my theory: people's IRL conversations can be pretty reliably predicted by their Facebook conversations, so targeted ads based on messages tend to be surprisingly relevant to the next thing they talk about IRL.
Example: my girlfriend was given a box of Flonase by her parents and immediately got a Facebook ad for it. She had not mentioned Flonase anywhere on Facebook ever. Spoopy eavesdropping? No --- she did talk on Facebook about her ENT appointment that morning. And what products might be relevant for someone going to an ENT doctor? Allergy medication.
And in cases like that, it's very likely that your two recommendations from different sources will happen to match --- what brand of medication are your parents likely to recommend? A popular one that spends a lot of $ on advertising. What brand is likely to buy ads? A popular one that spends a lot of $ on advertising.
Example: my girlfriend was given a box of Flonase by her parents and immediately got a Facebook ad for it. She had not mentioned Flonase anywhere on Facebook ever. Spoopy eavesdropping? No --- she did talk on Facebook about her ENT appointment that morning. And what products might be relevant for someone going to an ENT doctor? Allergy medication.
And in cases like that, it's very likely that your two recommendations from different sources will happen to match --- what brand of medication are your parents likely to recommend? A popular one that spends a lot of $ on advertising. What brand is likely to buy ads? A popular one that spends a lot of $ on advertising.