Facebook Social Ads Strangeness

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I’ve been experimenting with Facebook ads. Like Fred Wilson, I found I was getting very few pageviews and no clicks at all until I created this ad that started last night, and bumped my CPC bid from $0.10 to $0.15. Within a few minutes, it had 1000s of views and started seeing clicks.

In a couple hours, I’d reached reached 138 clicks ($10 worth). Then Facebook banished my ad, and I have no idea why.

Today the ad page updated to tell me my ad was in violation of Facebook’s Advertising Guidelines, sections 4, 5, and 6. It’s strange… you can see my ad in this screenshot, and I can’t really see how it’s in violation.

Here are sections 4, 5, and 6 of Facebook’s Ad Guidelines:

4. Grammar, spelling, and capitalization

  • Ad text must be in logical sentence form and contain grammatically correct spacing.
  • Ads must use correct spelling.
  • Ads may not include unnecessary capitalization (such as ‘FREE’). Acronyms may be capitalized.
  • Ads may not include excessive repetition.

    5. Punctuation and symbols

  • The use of all symbols, numbers, or letters must adhere to the true meaning of the symbol.
  • Repeated and unnecessary punctuation or symbols is not permitted.
  • Symbols may not be used to substitute for letters (e.g., “$ave” instead of “save”).

    6. Language and image content

  • Provocative images will not be accepted.
  • Ads may not contain, facilitate or promote adult content, including nudity, sexual terms and/or images of people in positions or activities that are excessively suggestive or sexual.
  • Ads may not contain, facilitate or promote offensive, profane, vulgar, obscene, or inappropriate language.
  • Ads may not contain, facilitate or promote defamatory, libelous, slanderous and/or unlawful content.

    • Any ideas?

    Posted on 14 November '07 by Amit Gupta, under Marketing, Technology, facebook.

    8 Comments to “Facebook Social Ads Strangeness”

    #1 Posted by Alicia (14.11.07 at 23:04 )

    Hmm, I’m not sure what SB is, but I think gigabyte is always capitalized: GB. “photo sharing” should be hyphenated, but it isn’t always when I’ve come across it on the internets…it should be photo-sharing. “built-in” instead of “built in” too? Those seem pretty nitpicky though.

    As for 6, all I can think of it maybe it’s unlawful to use the term “Wi-Fi.” Don’t things have to be officially Wi-Fi to bear that name? Is the memory card?

    #2 Posted by melissa (14.11.07 at 23:39 )

    I actually saw this one a few days ago. fwiw :)

    #3 Posted by Amit Gupta (14.11.07 at 23:48 )

    @Alicia — SD stands for Secure Digital. I know gb is usually capitalized, but their ad system is very picky — too many capital letters and it just won’t go through. They wouldn’t take 2GB, but they did take 2gb. Go figure. (Also tried built-in vs. built in, no dice. I can’t remember if I hyphenated photo sharing.) I guess it makes sense that they need to regularize copy, and since some of these ads are only worth a few bucks, they have to do it algorithmically. Still, wtf. The disapproval must have happened manually, and it makes no sense why.

    @melissa — awesome. :) I haven’t seen it, but it’s cool that it worked! :) I don’t think any sales have resulted from it yet.

    #4 Posted by Alicia (14.11.07 at 23:53 )

    I think it’s total BS, or bs rather (!), that “we cannot provide you with the specific violations that have been deemed abusive.” Ah censorship without explanation. WTF.

    #5 Posted by BEn (15.11.07 at 01:59 )

    My theory is that Facebook is run by hordes of people in their early twenties who rush things to market without thinking them through all the way just to say they did it, and then have to catch up with themselves when people figure out that their stuff, nice as it looks, is a pile of crap.

    #6 Posted by jen_chan, writer MemberSpeed.com (25.11.07 at 13:18 )

    Aside from all the minor details the previous comments mentioned, I am as lost as you are. And why did your ad get disapproved just when it started garnering more clicks and hits? Hmm… I love to play conspiracy theorist sometimes but it’s usually just in my head. Is there a way to contact Facebook and actually ask what can be done to resolve the matter?

    #7 Posted by Kelly Winters (26.11.07 at 05:34 )

    Maybe it’s because the first blurb is a fragment, as opposed to a complete sentence? Maybe they’re using a grammar-parser of some sort and it was flagged for that — maybe try changing the text to “A 2GB SD memory card with WiFi wireless built in lets you send photos to any photo sharing site without any cables!”

    Also, any chance it thought “WiFi wireless” was redundant?

    #8 Posted by Janice (28.11.07 at 17:21 )

    Errr… you ought to reread section 6. Just look at your hand– it doesn’t get any more nude than that. Please! A little decency, Amit. Have you no mittens?








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