What the heck is up with all these ads lately that stick “weird trick” into the opening? “Weird trick” will get you girls, money or let you learn a foreign language!
Did somebody do a study that shows it works or is it some specific web ad company that has got a tonne of extra business lately?
How about those shared links that I see all the time on Facebook? “You won’t believe what Ellen did on her show!” Clicking the link will take you to the story of Ellen interviewing Beyonce or something. “You won’t believe what this mother did IN PUBLIC!” She took her child to the park to play.
Annoying hype.
I did a google on “weird trick” a couple of weeks ago, and it led me to a discussion here at the Dope from around 2008 or so. I’m not where I can search so I can’t provide a link.
The guy responsible for the “secret to weight loss they don’t want you to know” ads just got sentenced to 10 years.
This article in Slate explains it pretty well:
Prepare to Be Shocked!
Anyone else pay special attention to their status bar before clicking those links above? I mean, we were talking about clickbaiting here.
I endorse Alley Dweller’s link.
These internet scams have, broadly speaking, 3 players. One company runs the warehouse. The next company makes the brands - there’s no reason why a seller of acai needs to know anything about acai or how to produce it; they don’t even have to handle to shipping and handling. What they do is sell the product for $20 and pay their ad affiliates $40 per sale. They make up the difference by signing the mark up for multiple recurring payments, each of which requires a phone call to cancel. Or you can just cancel the credit card.
The third group are “affiliates” who do the web advertising. These consist of hundreds (thousands?) of typically one man shops. Highly competitive. Lots of experimentation. So basically we have a stadium full of monkeys banging away at typewriters. As it turns out, the result isn’t Shakespeare, it’s “One weird trick.”
Cite: Jesse Willms, the Dark Lord of the Internet - The Atlantic
There’s a new generation of “See why this interview was banned from TV!!” stuff out there, too. I guess the one weird tip for tooth whitening and the one weird food for weight loss were getting lonely. It’s hard, being weird.
I clicked on one of those “One weird trick for a huge penis!” links because I thought “Hey, I’ve got a huge penis and it’d be neat to teach it a trick”.
What happens next will make you cry.
I hate clickbait link titles and my respect for friends who link to them lessens each time they post one.
Better yet, Obama wants you to apply for government assistance that you’re not entitled to.
What made me laugh is that there’s a radio ad that promises “This one weird trick to getting an extra $220 in your Social Security check” (or something very similar). It’s as though the advertising people were afraid that there’s people out there who could get suckered in by the hook but who unfortunately weren’t on the internet.