Global
Facebook Comment Ad
In 2010, Facebook reached out to ad agencies for ideas on how to improve the relationships between brands and users on their platform. The winning idea was my submission, called the "Comment Ad" by the time it debuted at Cannes the following year.
In June 2011, Leo Burnett was announced as the first ad agency to help Facebook create a new ad unit. The interactive ad – “Comment” – gave the agency a coveted opportunity to align itself with a well-known and well-respected company, Facebook, and raise its profile as leader in innovation. To capitalize, Leo Burnett — along with Facebook — launched a strategic PR campaign to coincide with the unveiling of the ad unit at the Cannes Lions Festival. The results were tremendous.
- Media "liked" our story. 30 news articles
- Coverage by the likes of Advertising Age, Fast Company, Crain's Chicago Business, Chicago Tribute, Mashable, The New York Times, HuffPost Tech
- Resulting in more than 50 million media impressions
- Accounting for 50% of Leo Burnett Cannes-related coverage
- And 10% of the agency's global media coverage in Q2 2011
- "Comment Ad" was a finalist in the Chicago Innovation Awards
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Platform Innovation
- Product Development
- Product Experience Mapping
- Instructional Copywriting
- Technical Documentation
- Copywriting (Ads)
The (Internal) Pitch
Because this was brand new and exclusive to Leo Burnett and Arc Worldwide clients, there was neither a sales pitch, user flow, nor technical specs. As the inventor of the Comment Ad, I authored all of these crucial documents and began briefing various teams from all corners of the agency network. The basic internal pitch was just four slides, shown above.
User Flow
It was mid-2011. Agency creative leadership had limited experience with digital advertising, and almost none with social media. The initial launch of the Comment Ad paired it with a Sponsored Story, which Facebook was still pushing as a way for brands to stand out from the platform's "right rail". Remember, at this time ads did not appear in the News Feed as we fully expect today.
I was responsible for all presentations, including graphics and instructional copy. Several of my "example" ads became real Comment Ads. I went on to write many of the first Comment Ads to traffic for clients around the agency network.
Variations & Specifications
At launch, the Comment Ad could be based on one of four types of Page posts: Photo, Video, Link, and Status. Each of these variations had its own specifications and limits on how much ad copy would be visible.