Display Ad Review: Become a Lord for $49.95!
While reading the other day on my phone, I saw this ad and it made me chuckle: I could become a true Scottish Lord for under $50! So, this ad stands out in a few ways: First, it is being displayed on a page which is designed in a way so […]
Read more: Display Ad Review: Become a Lord for $49.95!
Do fake buttons on display ads work?
Today I came across an ad that I thought was interesting and worth diving into. While reading an article (about how the pandemic has affected the cafe culture of Argentina) I saw an ad that I thought was a button because they did something I had never seen before. The […]
Read more: Do fake buttons on display ads work?
Ads Acknowledging That They’re Retargeting: Creepy or Not?
Remarketing (or “retargeting” as Google calls it) can be creepy. Ads following you around? Algorithms knowing all about you and predicting what you want to hear or buy? It is creepy, for many reasons, perhaps because we don’t want to admit that we are that predictable because that admission makes […]
Read more: Ads Acknowledging That They’re Retargeting: Creepy or Not?
Tik Tok: Attention To Detail In Ads? (or… How To Spot Ad Fraud)
So Eve, who is always Googling online advertising issues, is now being targeted as an ad buyer by Facebook and thus seeing the expected ads. And this ad from Tik Tok recently appeared on her Facebook feed: This ad stands out for a few reasons. First, that is a great […]
Read more: Tik Tok: Attention To Detail In Ads? (or… How To Spot Ad Fraud)
Display Ad Review: ClickCease’s Facebook Campaign
So Eve recently saw the following ad on Facebook, and I have so much to say about it that I’m turning it into a post: First, before we dive in, ClickCease just announced it was acquired by Cheq.ai. Timely ad, indeed. Now, this ad is interesting and well done in a […]
Read more: Display Ad Review: ClickCease’s Facebook Campaign
Ad Review: Automattic’s Search for PHP Developers
As a WordPress freak (self-proclaimed!), I read far too many WordPress sites, including deeply techy, developer-targeted sites Thus it’s not surprising that WordPress targets me for ads to work for them as a developer. Here’s one ad that I saw: Well, I’m not a developer but I am an ad […]
Read more: Ad Review: Automattic’s Search for PHP Developers
Busy Ads: Do They Work or Not?
Today’s screenshot to review has two ads: one in the middle, and one on the bottom. Let’s review the one in the middle: Here is what makes this ad more likely to be effective: “See what the other side thinks” is clear and compelling copy, for its target market (presumably […]
Read more: Busy Ads: Do They Work or Not?
“0 Spots Left” in an ad
While reading an interesting article in Catapult magazine, I saw the following ad: What stands out about this ad to me is that it’s asking you to signup for a workshop, yet it says that there are “0 spots” left in the workshop. What? Huh? Why would you possibly […]
Read more: “0 Spots Left” in an ad
Display Ads in Which Parody Meets Reality
Hot off the press: while reading a newspaper’s website on my phone, scrolling down, down, down, and I see this ad: No, not the spammy supermarket ad on the top nor the bank ad on the bottom, but the big one in the middle. Note that the Spanish text […]
Read more: Display Ads in Which Parody Meets Reality
Typos in ads: Incompetence or Strategic?
Here’s what I used to think long, long ago, before I dipped my toes into the real-world: When I see something stupid that means that someone, somewhere, made a stupid decision. That feels like common sense, almost even tautological. If it is stupid, then someone did something stupid. Oh, if […]
Read more: Typos in ads: Incompetence or Strategic?
Display Ads As Signalling: A BBC Ad
I was reading online the other day and I saw a display ad (not from AdWords, but I didn’t inspect the source to see which network it was) for the BBC. Let’s see if what stands out to me also stands out to you. Look at this screenshot I took: […]
Read more: Display Ads As Signalling: A BBC Ad