Fail Ads for Mobile Games: Behind the Controversial Strategy
This story originally appeared on the MAF blog.
Have you noticed how players in mobile game ads fail at extremely simple tasks?
This is no coincidence.
“Fail ads” are a tried and tested strategy used by experienced game marketers. To help you understand it better, we’ll go over all the ins and outs of using this advertising technique, including:
- How fail ads work
- How they can lead to lower CPIs
- Their main advantages and disadvantages
- How they are used by top mobile games (examples)
What Are Fail Ads
Just like their name suggests, fail ads are ad creatives that feature losing scenarios. These ads feature a “player” who engages with the game, but their attempts are unsuccessful.
But it’s not just about losing.
It’s more about HOW they lose.
The thing is, the gameplay shown in these ads usually seems utterly simple. For example, fail ads often feature a player choosing between two options, constantly going for the wrong one. Or they show them playing the game in a completely illogical way.
Seeing this, viewers can’t help but wonder: “How can someone fail at something so simple?“
With this in mind, viewers might get a strong desire to download the game and try it out for themselves.
Common Features
Fail ads are easy to spot because they have some common features that stand out.
Typically, the fail scene happens early in the ad — within 5 to 10 seconds. To emphasize this moment, it is often followed by different visual and sound effects. For example, a “fail” sign, red effects, negative emojis, buzzing, and blooper sounds.
Moreover, if the ad features characters, you can expect to see them in negative emotional states such as crying, anger, and disbelief.
The “Player”
Fail ads display the person playing the game in different ways.
In many fail ads, the player appears in the form of an animated hand, while others use losing gameplay without any human elements.
Generally, this depends on the gameplay mechanics used in the ad. For example, it makes perfect sense to use an animated hand in a game that requires tapping. But when it comes to games with, for example, swerve mechanics, this makes hardly any sense.
Alternatively, some fail ads feature actual footage of a person playing the game, expressing different emotions along the way. This approach is often seen in collaborations between games and influencers, adding a relatable touch to the ad experience.
5 Reasons Game Advertisers Use Fail Ads
There are many reasons why ads with fail scenarios tend to perform better than ads with winning gameplay.
Ultimately, it comes down to one thing — the psychological effect.
Considering this, let’s delve into the top five reasons why fail ads are such a popular choice among game marketers.
1. Driving Emotion
The main purpose of fail ads is to trigger an emotional response from viewers. Unlike ads with winning gameplay that are meant to cause positive emotions, fail ads are designed to frustrate people.
Frustration is a strong emotion, and when it strikes, people usually become determined to prove their point.
In this case, viewers can deal with their frustration by downloading the game and outperforming the “person” in the ad.
2. Teaching the Rules
In fail ads, viewers can see an example of what NOT to do in the game.
This automatically makes the viewer familiar with the game’s rules, educating them before they even reach the tutorial.
Of course, this is only true if the fail ad contains actual gameplay, not a fake one. While fake ads can successfully drive frustration and draw attention, they are ineffective at teaching players the game’s rules upfront.
3. Creating a Sense of Difficulty
With the help of fail ads, game marketers can trick people into thinking a game is either super easy or super challenging.
Let’s say they want to produce two completely different ads for the same puzzle game.
Scenario 1. A player can’t seem to solve an extremely simple puzzle where the solution is obvious to anyone. This way, the game sets a low bar so people are not intimidated to download and play it.
Scenario 2. A player is struggling to solve a complex puzzle. This makes the viewers install the game and try out this challenging-looking game.
These two fail ads will attract players with different interests. While the first will most likely attract people looking to relax, the second might appeal to those looking to challenge themselves.
If you want to learn more about different types of players, read our recent article on the top player personas in mobile games.
4. They Can be Captivating
When viewers watch ads with fail scenarios, they frequently stick around until the very end.
Why is that?
They want to find out if the player will ultimately win or lose the game. In a lot of cases, they long for a happy ending.
Here are a few examples of how you can use fail scenarios to keep viewers “glued” to their mobile screens:
- Create ads with a series of fail scenarios and cut off the video the moment the player is about to succeed
- Begin with multiple fail scenarios to display the player’s effort and then end with a win
- Start with a win, then unexpectedly make the player play poorly in the rest of the ad
5. Lowering CPI
Well-made fail ads should capture attention and drive engagement from the target audience.
This should reflect in the games’ advertising metrics, improving their click-through rates and conversion rates. Consequently, well-performing fail ads often result in a lower cost per install (CPI) and overall better campaign performance.
According to AppLovin, ads with the “fail” tone work better than other popular tones like urgency and humor, making up for 26% of top-performing creatives.
Fail Ads for Mobile Games: The Not-so-Good
Fail ads are not exactly the players’ favorite.
At least not on a conscious level.
Even though they are not nearly as hated as fake mobile game ads, there are many players who dislike seeing fail ads. This is usually because they’ve seen too many of them in the past and they can’t get fooled by them anymore.
Fail ads are also common meme material. People tend to make fun of fail ads because they are illogical and obviously deceptive. Or in a lot of cases, completely ridiculous.
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What’s next in the article 👇
Examples of Fail Ads in Mobile Games in Top Games
- Tall Man Run
- Mob Control
- Project Makeover
