Strange but Effective: How Weird Ads Like Project Makeover Drive Installs

Where Did Weird Ads Come From?

Weird ads aren’t new—they’ve just evolved.

Remember those highly engaging 90s TV commercials? “But wait, there’s more!” Or the clickbait-style display ads from the early 2010s that said, “This game is banned! Find out why!”

Mobile games took those tactics and optimized them for performance marketing.

• Homescapes and Gardenscapes used misleading puzzle ads that drove millions of installs, even though the puzzles barely existed in the actual game.

• Mafia City turned the “Level 1 Crook vs. Level 100 Boss” meme into a viral ad campaign, boosting retention in early stages.

• Project Makeover leveraged emotion-driven storytelling to increase ad engagement rates and lower CPIs.

The result? Massive revenue growth across the industry.

Why Do These Ads Have High Conversion Rates?

It’s all about how our brains react to frustration, curiosity, and social proof—three key drivers in ad performance metrics.

1. Frustration → Action Seeing a character fail in an ad creates a psychological trigger, making users feel the need to install the app and fix the situation.

2. Curiosity → Clicks When an ad disrupts user expectations, it increases CTR (click-through rate) because people want to know more.

3. Social Proof → Virality Ads that go viral on social media or UGC platforms (like TikTok) trigger organic installs, reducing paid acquisition costs.

A study by Nielsen found that unexpected ad creatives boost brand recall by 41% in interactive experiences. (Source: Microsoft News)

Do These Ads Actually Boost Revenue?

Yes, and the numbers prove it:

• Project Makeover generated $34.4 million in IAP (in-app purchases) revenue in just one month, with the U.S. market contributing more than half. (Source: Game World Observer)

• Merge Mansion saw $38.6 million in revenue and over 10 million installs within a year of launch. (Source: PocketGamer.biz)

• Homescapes has surpassed $1.49 billion in lifetime revenue, proving that long-term LTV (lifetime value) can outweigh high CPIs. (Source: Udonis)

• Gardenscapes maintains a strong DAU (daily active users) base, averaging 30-40 million players, despite a slowdown since 2020. (Source: Business of Apps)

Clearly, these high-performing ads drive real revenue — but can they sustain long-term user retention?

What’s Next for Weird Ads?

At first, people laughed at these over-the-top creatives. Now, they dominate UA strategies.

• Fake mini-games are used as engagement hooks, even though they don’t exist in the actual game.

• A/B testing on ad networks proves that absurd ads often outperform traditional ones in CTR and CVR.

• Players are catching on, making retention and post-install engagement more challenging.

But there’s a growing risk:

• Misleading creatives lead to high churn rates, increasing CPAs (cost per acquisition).

• App stores like Apple and Google are cracking down on deceptive ads, impacting ad approval rates.

  

Should You Use These Ads in Your UA Strategy?

It depends on your monetization model.

The pros:

• High CTR and CVR, meaning more installs for lower ad spend.

• Strong impulse-driven conversions, especially on social media platforms.

The cons:

• High churn rates mean lower D7 and D30 retention.

• Potential app store restrictions on misleading creatives.

The best approach? Find a balance between bold, engaging ads and realistic gameplay representation. That way, you’ll drive installs and keep players engaged long-term.

What’s the weirdest mobile ad you’ve seen? Let’s discuss in the comments.