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A surreal TikTok ad on Wednesday from an advertiser posing as Amazon tricked users into believing the e-commerce giant was trying to include absurd internet humor in its online marketing strategy.
The ad featured lego-style title play footage Roblox interspersed with weird clips of a man dancing to Flo Rida and T-Pain’s 2008 hit, “Low”, but only the part where T-Pain says “Apple Bottom jeans”. There are also bullying robot voices about grandmothers and girlfriends superimposed on the ad. The bizarre video was highlighted by Eddy Burback, a popular YouTuber and streamer, on his Twitter feed on Wednesday.
The ad was supposed to be bought by e-commerce giant Amazon, but Amazon said The edge Wednesday that the announcement was false. Amazon said it was investigating the issue with TikTok. TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The edge.
It is not known how the fake ad got to the platform, but it appears to have been purchased by a third-party Amazon seller posing as the company itself. When you click on the link attached to the ad, it will take you to an Amazon search results page for the keyword “revealhome1”. Results include home decor and kitchen items like curtain ties and food jars. The ad could be an attempt to promote an Amazon referral code, and purchases made through the link would give the advertiser a reduction in Amazon revenue.
Last year, TikTok opened up its self-service advertising platform to all advertisers, taking on other competitors in the digital advertising market like Facebook and Google, according to Digiday. While these self-service ad management services can generate significant revenue for companies like TikTok and Facebook, they have also been the subject of fraud and misinformation.
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