Well, hello, Sister Michael. I didn’t expect to be seeing you again so soon. For anyone who needs catching up, I blogged about my previous problems with Facebook advertising here and here. For those of you who don’t care, you should visit those posts anyway because they have more Sister Michael GIFs.
So, after the poor performance of the “Cuddling Violation” ad, I thought I’d try something different. Mr. Bennet, who is handy with a computer, decided to make me a book trailer. Here it is in all its HD glory. If you decide to give it a watch, keep an eye out for adult content because that’ll be important down-post.
Not bad for a man who’d never used video editing software before!
I’ve been sharing it across social media but, glutton for punishment that I am, I thought I’d make a Facebook ad as well. You know, not to sell books or anything (since Facebook is really bad at that) but to get more views for the trailer. Well, wouldn’t you know it? They didn’t approve our ad.
Why? Because:
“Adverts must not promote the sale or use of adult products or services.“
Now I feel trolled. Adult services like escorts? Products like dildos? What are they even talking about? I need more clarification.
“Adverts must not promote the sale or use of adult products or services, unless they promote family planning and contraception. Adverts for contraceptives must focus on the contraceptive features of the product and not on sexual pleasure or sexual enhancement, and must be targeted to people aged 18 years or older. “
Side note: I’m not sure what the age of consent is where you are, but in the UK , it’s 16. I sure as hell believe that family planning should be targeted at 16 years olds and, let’s face it, right or wrong, not all kids wait that long. I’d rather mine were properly educated just in case. But, whatever. That’s not Facebook’s job etc. But look at this, lest we ever forget that Facebook thinks sex is dirty:
No sexual pleasure for you! It is verboten.
But I digress. The real issue here is where does my trailer go wrong? Is it the word “seduction”? Is it the silhouettes of two adults not kissing? Or has my romance novel (which is not an erotic romance, though it does have some erotic scenes) been deemed an “adult product?” If so, that didn’t bother them last week or during any of the previous ad runs. This is a whole new reason not to let me advertise my book and I’m starting to develop a teensy weensy bit of a persecution complex.
So now comes the fun of deciding whether to appeal or edit the ad and try again.
But I’m starting to feel a bit cross. And, yes, that’s British understatement.
Julia Bennet 