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.
Who didn’t see that coming?
Obligatory fuck spez
Fuck spez
Fuck spez!
Fuck spez!!
Fuck spez!!!
Fuck spez!! !!
My first subreddit to get banned was one dedicated to pointing out obvious ad campaigns.
“How do you do, fellow redditors? Pray tell, of all the Dodge Ram variants, which one is your favorite, and what make it your choice as a discerning American patriot?”
If it’s not already the law, it needs to be. It should be required that paid advertising be disclosed in all contexts.
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.
I honestly find it impressive how Reddit continues to find new ways to enshittify the platform
“Just like the megathread,” an announcement reads, “free-form ads encourage multiple users to come together, get the information they need, and deep dive into the topic at hand.” Reddit explained that the open-ended nature of these ads will give advertisers more freedom to explore creativity and, hopefully, to start conversations with users.
Enshittification to the extreme…
Hahaha, what’s your problem, come on, let’s just dive into the topic of how delicious Snickers™ bars are and what a great value they are too!
I’m just here to talk about rampart