What are “Fail” Ads in Mobile Gaming?
“FAIL” advertising in mobile gaming refers to ads where a simulated user makes very basic choices, some good and some bad, ultimately ending in a massive blunder and failure. The premise is to keep you watching or entice you to download the game to do better yourself.
Major culprits of this ad style include games like Topwar, Evony, Royal Match, and many others. The ads are usually 15-30 seconds long.
How Online Advertising Algorithms Work
Online advertising is complex, but a key factor in what ads you see is what you choose to watch. The algorithms track your watch time and engagement with different ad topics.
If you immediately skip an ad for one product but watch an ad for another product longer, the system tags your account as potentially interested in that second product category. This makes you more likely to see related ads in the future.
The Psychological Principles Behind “Fail” Ads
Research reveals three key psychological concepts that “fail” ads prey upon:
- Self Enhancement Bias – The tendency for humans to have inflated views of their own abilities, even without objective evidence.
- Enjoyment of Superiority – Certain MBTI personality types, especially “Thinking” types, derive satisfaction from feeling superior to others.
- Dunning-Kruger Effect – People with low competency or intelligence tend to greatly overestimate their abilities, more so than those with high competence.
How “Fail” Ads Target the Vulnerable
“Fail” ads combine these psychological principles to target about 64% of the population based on MBTI stats. They refine that targeting to people with low aptitude who are likely to spend lots of time on mobile games.
The ads convey an impending sense of satisfaction if the viewer can just download the game and do better than the “dumbass” in the ad. It’s a devious strategy to prey on human weaknesses and attract a vulnerable demographic.
The Vicious Advertising Feedback Loop
Catching yourself watching these “fail” ads for longer than you should kicks off a vicious cycle. The algorithms register your watch time and show you more and more of the same ad style.
Soon your feeds on platforms like Twitter and YouTube are dominated by an endless stream of mobile game ads featuring players making stupid mistakes. It’s obnoxious, but a trap of your own making.
Why YOU Fall for “Fail” Ads
If you find yourself sucked into these ads, it’s likely for one of three reasons:
- You’re a “Thinking” MBTI type who anticipates the satisfaction of doing better than the player in the ad, urging you to download the game.
- You’re overestimating your own gaming abilities thanks to the Dunning-Kruger effect.
- You check both boxes – the ultimate susceptible target.
It may sound insulting, but there’s a reason you’re bombarded with “fail” ads. Mobile game companies spend millions on them because they work.
The Big Business of “Fail” Advertising
A deep dive into the companies behind these ads reveals the massive scale of this manipulative strategy. For example:
- Blue Vision Interactive (Hong Kong) is running about 50,000 campaigns, mostly “fail” ad variations
- Nexters Global has over 4,000 ads for a single game using the “fail” psychology model
The sheer volume and budget behind these campaigns prove their effectiveness. In the hyper-competitive mobile gaming ad space, this “methodology of the fail” wouldn’t be so prevalent if it didn’t get results.
Understanding the “Why” Behind the Ads
It’s easy to simply complain about the prevalence of “fail” ads, but digging into the psychological reasons for their existence is fascinating (if a bit embarrassing when you realize you’ve fallen for them).
Hopefully this examination of the tactics behind these ads helps you recognize the manipulation at play and think more critically about the content you consume and the games you download.
