Yawn! Annoyed! These fake game ads need to stop. These deceptive ads should be deemed illegal. The most recent super annoying ad that I've been saying lately is Gossip Harbor. If it's too good to be true, don't believe it! The ad promised that it was free, with no ads, and that those who downloaded it would receive a free gift of USD 100.00. Doesn't that sound too good to be true? I decided not to download it, since I was fearful that Gossip Harbor may contain some dangerous malware. The ad, featuring a Caucasian man saying the stuff I just mentioned earlier, was too good to be true.
What might be driving companies to make these super annoying fake game ads?
Frustration Bait (a.k.a. “Fail Ads”)
You’ve definitely seen these: a character messes up the most obvious move in a puzzle. Pulls the wrong pin. Chooses the wrong door. Gets eaten by a monster… for the fifth time.It’s infuriating—but that’s the point.These ads are designed to make you think, “Are you serious? I could do that in my sleep.” And now, you’re not just watching. You’re engaged. You want to prove you’re smarter than the “player” in the ad.This taps into what psychologists call reactance—a mental pushback against something frustrating or unfair. You see someone fail repeatedly at something simple, and you instinctively want to take control and do it right.And that means clicking.
Trying to develop a controlled temper while watching these games isn't easy! The point is, it's pretty much, "That's just easy! I can do this!" You download, and you find out that it's not the same game. It's a serious deception! Sure, it can draw in a lot of users. However, it can also irritate users. Some have gone as bad as to say, "We're not lying!" or "What you see is what you get." while competing with others, who make the fake mobile game ads!
Studios make them for what reason? The Udonis blog gives this interesting information on why these companies use fake game ads:
High installs don’t always mean high retention. Plenty of people delete the game once they realize it’s not what they expected. But from a growth standpoint, fake ads are still a fast, cheap way to hit user acquisition targets, which is why studios keep making them.
If what you see is not what you get, it can definitely irritate potential customers. Why would I want to pay money for items over a game that was different from the ad? It's also a huge irritation. Another reason why it might be better to skip mobile gaming overall isn't just financial; you also need to save your psychology from having to view those annoying ads. Ads that are too good to be true.
There are a lot and I mean a lot of them. Who can remember seeing the Evony fake ads or the Gardenscapes, Homescapes, etc. fake ads? Those get super annoying because what you see isn't what you get. Sure, those annoying fake game ads eventually inspired games like Save the Girl (which is pretty hilarious), or several pull-the-pin games, involving you helping a mother and her daughter. But the idea and implementation came from the game developers who actually went so far, as to create the games. All dishonest advertisers have done is to infuriate the customer into downloading something else!
One of the biggest possible reasons why these fake game ads exist is that there may not be laws in the USA against them. Advertisers in general should never allow such hideous fake ads. Depending on how long these fake game ads are and how much harm they caused, I believe certain degrees of penalty need to be implemented. To do so, it may be necessary for people to screenshot the whole transaction, so as to post it online and warn others. Depending on the number of clicks and downloads, it may require a fine fitting for the offense. Failure to pay the fines may result in the suspension of the company's privileges.
Being silent about this atrocious business practice is indirectly condoning it. It's not just a simple insult that one can walk away from. This is giving room for unethical practices, which would condone deceptive advertising. This is a matter of intrusion of the need for honest business practices.