I ‘Like’ It. So go ahead and spam my friends.

The new “like” ad formats recently announced by Facebook appear to be a high-tech spin on the oldest and most effective form of advertising there is: word of mouth.

This is a savvy move and so completely obvious even if Facebook users can even still pretend to be outraged by these kinds of tactics. The author of this Business Insider article respects the concept too but I think demonstrates a bad example with Starbucks. I see this doing well with products and services people might not be aware of, and instead of large brands, being effective for smaller products and more unknown companies. A quick example, I like Headline Shirts. Great website and really fun t-shirts. I’m not sure how much influence my like has but the fact that I indicated my like that can be shared via an ad with my FB friends constitutes a passive word-of-mouth endorsement. I don’t even need to be bothered to tweet or post about. Just hit the like button and away they go.

But as always when I find myself in thrall of such clever marketing tactics, my mind shudders back to this bit from Bill Hicks.

Facebook Launching Whole New Ad Format — Will Turn Your “Likes” Into Ads And Spam Your Friends With “Sponsored Stories” [Business Insider]