Those annoying puzzle ads you see on Facebook.
If you’ve been on the internet recently or played mobile games you are likely familiar with the ads for games like HomeScapes and GardenScapes. They’ve become something of a meme in recent months as they rather humorously show a user pulling pins and failing spectacularly at what appears to be rather simple puzzles.
You’re probably also aware that those advertisements do not represent the game at all, as they are match three games similar to Bejeweled or Candy Crush. And you wouldn’t be alone as the UK Advertising Standards Authority has banned Playrix ads and ordered that they are not to be used again. The ASA stated in its ruling:
“Because the ads were not representative of the games they were purported to feature, we concluded that they were misleading.”
While the levels in the ads are technically in the game, they make up a statistically negligible amount of the gameplay. Maybe a couple dozen levels in the thousands of levels of gameplay that most users will never see.
The mobile gaming industry is no stranger to misleading advertising and outright fraud in its games. Authorities like the ASA have a constant uphill battle to fight against fraudulent advertising.
Source: BBC
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