The Most Upvoted Reddit Ad

Most people hate ads, but if there is one group who hates them more than any one else, then they are the Redditors!!

Yet, This Ad became the most upvoted on the same platform. It was upvoted 19,000 times, got many Reddit user awards and generated over 7,200 positive comments(mostly).

The Ad: Justin Fauci, a founder of Caliberran an Ad on Reddit promoting his fitness app and he did it in a simple text format, no fancy stuff. Unexpectedly for most marketers this ad picked it up big on a platform who’s audience hates ads.

So, What worked??

1. First of all it doesn’t even look like an Ad!If you miss the small text saying “Promoted” on the top left, you’ll see it as a genuine post! Where most brands invest in high quality graphics, expensive stock images, this ad stands out as a simple text post.

2. Authority:Imagine seeing an Ad straight from the founder, now you are able to put a Face/Name behind the brand. At start it looks like an organic post by a founder promoting his stuff only later in the intro he call’s out all the top value props.

3. Transparency and Trust:He further gained the users trust by calling out the Ad for what it is(an Ad) and created association by saying he is an active Redditor and not just there to invade their feed. Later explaining why he is running ads.

4. The Actual Value Proposition: Lastly he delivers a clear and concise pitch with no pushy call to action.

5. User Engagement: On Reddit, just allowing comments on your ads is a daring move, as the Redditor’s might shred it to pieces. Justin not only did that but also made the most of the comments section as well by not just responding to the positive comments, responding to user questions but also giving sassy replies to any negative ones.

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People know when they are being sold to, but if you can come clean and callout what the user will benefit from it in a non salesy way. Then you just might be able to build a genuine connection and gain a user.