They say it’s because too many ads mean few will gather enough data to exit the learning phase. True that most people make WAY too many ads (and they are not using 4:5 video).
But more ads in the review means more labor on their ads review team, more political risk (especially mass-microtargeting, not just from elections), and more processing burden in the auction.
Notice how they’ve couched their announcement around progressive compliance dates for political, housing, lending, and “special category” ads.
Given where Facebook is right now (the scrutiny, and potential failure of Libra– deserved or not), they’re making the right moves here.
I miss the old days of 12 years ago when anything goes and where ads were literally 1/60th the current price.
Ironically, clients then were complaining that ads were too expensive and that Facebook wouldn’t work– declaring failure before even trying what we suggested.
Today, we’re suggesting 15 and 60-second videos cross-posted across multiple networks and via a combo of public figure pages and brand pages– meeting the same resistance.
The shift beyond Facebook and Google is not just about market maturity and pricing. Audiences need nurturing in sequences that are combinations of entertainment, education, and light selling.
In a few years from now, as it has been for every cycle over the last 30 years, most people will realize too late. You figure they would have learned the first few times around.
