Not only your revenue and ads cost are on the line - but also your reputation!
Imagine a perfect world.
How nice would it be to have the perfect ad created and distributed to exactly the right audience?
I know the temptation.
Short on time, learning curve too steep to understand everything…
By the click of a button, AI promises to magically take care of my problems.
And sometimes, it actually works.
But since this is the Google and Meta Horror Stories newsletter series, let me show you what I have seen during our ad account audits:
Horror story time - Nightmare on Ads Street
Please answer the following question:
what is being advertised in the picture below?
Just look briefly at the ad - just like you would in real life.
And judge immediately.
Brand anonymized. This is a real ad.
Answer:
This is an ad for a contracting company that sells roofing and siding services!!!
No kidding.
Real ad.
Still running.
Let’s have a look at another example.
What is the following ad about?
(The green and red stuff is from me to anonymize the ad)
Brand anonymized. This is a real ad.
Answer:
it’s for the lighter, not the incense holder.
I guess 50% of you were right?! Haha.
When intention and reality don’t match
So, what happened here?
Sometimes, Meta or Google give you a little (i) with additional information like this:
“Dynamic products” is the keyword.
This means they can mix and match your inputs - text and creatives.
Sometimes even create new images from the base image or video.
Google and Meta mean well, the person running the ads means well, but the result…
well…
not exactly as expected.
Why this is important
Sure, you can say these are fun mishaps.
But people judge you in milliseconds.
If your ad creates a first impression of total 😕 😕 😕 (read: confusion)
- what will people think about your brand?
How to protect your brand from AI nightmares:
Step 1: Go to these two pages to find all of your ads:
Step 2: On the website,
select “all ads”,
enter your store URL or brand name, and
screen your ads to ensure they make sense.
You might be surprised by what you find.
If you find something weird and want a second pair of eyes:
Hit reply with “AI” and your URL.
I will record a short Loom and tell you what I would do.
Pro tipp:
set a reminder to check your ads periodically. You never know when AI goes rogue.
Found funny and share-worthy ads in your ad accounts?
Please please share it with me! 🙂
The best ones will be shared in one of my next newsletters.
To your everlasting ad success and beyond!
Simon - your brother in ads - Hegener