One of the biggest and most widely appreciated social networks on the world, Facebook, isn’t only a place for the more than 400 million users to interact with each other and explore the world around them, but it is also a big time monetizing platform the online advertisers
, that pay to have their mark on Facebook. However, it has been observed that, with the great influx of companies and individual advertisers on Facebook, these advertisements can at times be weird, funny or just plain off the subject.

The gist being that, the advertisers have taken upon themselves to ensure that they get the maximum exposure to Facebook users, even if it means that their advertisements don’t make any sense at all. Such advertisements are technically called, self serving ads and are directed towards attracting a user to the concerned service or web page. Companies such as Pepsi, Wal-Mart, Procter & Gamble etc. that serve advertisements on Facebook to entice customers, usually makes sense and the users are able to relate to the advertisements. But, then there are those advertisements that are just plain out of tune or at times even spooky, such as advertisement, where an Apple iPhone 3GS is said to have been auctioned for less than $10, or to $8 to be precise.

The entire purpose of Facebook’s self serving advertisement system is to individuals and companies to create ad campaigns and then provide them with the tools to reach out to the 400 million plus Facebook users, based on various differentiating factors such as, gender, age, location and preferences like favorite movies and activities.

According to Tim Hanlon (Riverview Lane Associates of Chicago),

“When it works, it’s amazingly impactful, but when it doesn’t work, it’s not only creepy but off-putting. What a marketer might think is endearing, by knowing a little bit about you, actually crosses the line pretty easily.”

Via New York Times