Reddit's new paid ads look exactly like user posts
zdnet.com
Calling them "free-form ads," Reddit said the new advertisements are its most native format ever, designed to look and feel like community content shared by real people.
The ads, meant to mimic the site's megathreads, will enable advertisers to utilize a variety of formats in one post, including images, videos, and text.
According to numbers from Reddit, free-form ads got 28% more clicks than all other types of ads on the site and saw a jump in community engagement.
The next time you see an interesting post in your Reddit feed, take a closer look - because it might just be a paid advertisement.
You are viewing a single comment
I like how they try to sell the idea that tricking users is in fact a nice and innovative way to advertise
And that the "increased community engagement" isn't mainly comments of people complaining about being tricked into clicking on an ad.
The moderation effort required to clean up these ads must be massive.
I am sure that in the first iteration they did not remove the "Report" function, but those suckers learn fast
"we could just lie to people" is an advertising tactic somebody always comes up with. It's a Rubicon that absolutely shreds customer goodwill, though.
Assuming, of course, it isn't already shredded.