Facebook's Offensive Content Impacts Image Of Ads, Platforms

Despite Facebook’s best efforts, the platform remains riddled with hateful, inappropriate, and offensive content.

A new report from AdColony found that 60% surveyed said they encountered foul fare on Facebook. That’s just about double the share of consumers who said they encountered such content on YouTube.

Additionally, 18% of respondents said they run into such content in mobile games; 15% find it on Instagram; and 14% encounter it in Snapchat.

Bad content doesn’t reflect well on the ads appearing alongside it. In fact, nearly half (49%) of consumers said bad content negatively impacts their impression of ads that accompany it.

A clear majority (60%) of consumers said such content also negatively impacts their view of the platform.

On the upside, mobile users have become accustomed to encountering ads on Facebook. Indeed, 36% said they expect and prefer to see ads on the platform.

That’s more than the 16% of consumers who say they prefer to encounter ads in mobile games (16%); on YouTube (15%), on Snapchat (8%) and on Instagram (7%). The fact that so few Instagram users expect and prefer to see ads on Instagram doesn’t bode well for Facebook.

Worse, despite Instagram’s recent efforts to embrace ecommerce advertising, less than 1-in-8 consumers report making purchases after seeing an ad on the platform.

By contrast, 1-in-4 consumers report purchasing advertised products or services after seeing ads in mobile games. Mobile games also have the lowest incidence of “fake news,” just 8% compared to a staggering 49% on Facebook, 25% on YouTube and 20% on Google.

2 comments about "Facebook's Offensive Content Impacts Image Of Ads, Platforms".
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  1. Bob Gordon from The Auto Channel, April 15, 2019 at 10:44 a.m.

    0% run into bad content on The Auto Channel...relevant content happy and responsive viewers

  2. Britton Green from KAYAK, April 15, 2019 at 11:13 a.m.

    This doesn't surprise me at all. Let's assume a high percentage of users of Disney+ will have kids in the household (Yes, Marvel and other adult-friendly brands will be included in the product but that won't be their primary focus). 

    If you give your kid the ipad to watch a show while you make dinner and he clicks off on an ad, what happens? You have to send him back to the app and fix it. Or if an ad comes on the TV, he walks away and bothers you for a snack. Getting a kid to watch a commercial is like finding Sasquatch.

    Even if the ads are incredible and every kid watches every one and there is no click-through, Disney and advertisers are going to have to deal with COPA. Advertising on Cartoon Network is very different than having the ability to target IP address and any information that comes with having device IDs. TV ads you blanket target the network and you're done. Under COPA laws, there are strict regulations against targeting ads to children under 13 years old (Ask Hasbro). 

    Disney just doesn't want the headache and they want the experience to be easey - $XXX/mo - no ads. Maybe more if you want certain brands like Star Wars and Marvel. 

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