The other day my friend sends me an email with the title “Funny PPC”. Knowing that I’m often quite critical of poor PPC ads, I anticipated some situation where dynamic keyword insertion had made a nonsensical ad. Happens all the time (courtesy of the now defunct YourPPCSucks.com). However, this one exceeded expectations.
The Ad
If the image is too small for you, it says “Hideous, obnoxious condos – www.redlodge.com – lousy snow, lame nightlife and surly locals want your cash now”. And yes, my friend did click the ad, which goes to this very normal page about ski lodges. There are two possible reasons for this ad.
Reason #1: A Bold PPC Strategy
My friend clicked the ad because he just had to know what was on the other side of such a negative ad. We are so accustomed to ads that are positive and are trying to sell us something. Want to stand out from the crowd? Write ads that criticize your product. Your conversion rates might not be very good, but the CTR should be healthy.
Reason #2: Disgruntled PPC Manager
More likely is the theory that someone at the Red Lodge made their PPC manager (or someone with access to the PPC campaign) very, very angry. In revenge, they changed the PPC ads. Simple, yet effective at making your old boss pay (literally). So what do you think? Bold PPC strategy or disgruntled employee?
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