You write the ad copy, choose an image and get it signed off. Then to try and boost performance, you leave Meta's enhancements switched on and the platform serves an advert you'd never have approved.
New AI tools promise better performance, less manual work and smarter campaign optimisation. In theory, that sounds great. In practice, we're seeing some AI-powered advertising features create more problems than they're solving.
One area causing particular concern (and some laughs) is Meta's Advantage+ creative enhancements.
If you've run Meta advertising recently, you've probably seen them. They're enabled by default, difficult to disable completely and presented as harmless improvements designed to boost performance. The problem is that many of these so-called enhancements fundamentally change the advert you originally approved. For brands that care about consistency, accuracy and reputation, that's a big issue.
How Meta butchered our Golding Young adverts
One of our recent campaigns highlighted exactly why this matters.
Working with auctioneer client Golding Young, we created a campaign designed to encourage people to consign items for auction. The advert featured Colin Young, the company's director and a familiar face to many thanks to his appearances on the TV show Bargain Hunt.
The approved advert showed Colin appraising an item, with a clear message: "Consign your items for auction today."
Simple, relevant and on-brand.
Then Advantage+ waved its magic wand.
In one version, Colin appears to be sitting on the lap of a 20-year older version of himself. It's funny, in the way only AI mistakes can be funny, but it's also obviously not a professional advert any auction house would choose to publish.
In another version, Meta removed the item Colin was appraising entirely, moved the scene into what looks like a police interview room and added a female lawyer who appears to be giving him some very bad news.
Not quite the reassuring message we had in mind.
In fact, every "enhancement" Meta tried to force on us misrepresented the business and broke the brand guidelines. From giant teacups to Lord of the Rings vibes, you can see the funny-not-funny Advantage+ versions below.
You may not be running the advert you approved
Fortunately, our marketing team spotted the changes and disabled the relevant Advantage+ enhancements before the campaign went live.
The issue wasn't that Meta made small design adjustments. The issue was that entirely new creative interpretations were being proposed by the platform.
What makes this even more concerning is that many of these Advantage+ enhancements are enabled by default, meaning advertisers can unknowingly hand over creative control from the outset.
For busy marketers, it's remarkably easy to assume you're running the advert you approved, when in reality the platform may be generating and serving damaging versions behind the scenes.
What Advantage+ can change
Meta's Advantage+ enhancements allow the platform to automatically modify elements of your advert after you've created it.
Depending on the options selected, Meta can:
- Rewrite parts of your copy
- Reposition text
- Alter image formats
- Apply visual effects
- Add animations
- Generate alternative creative variations
- Change how assets are displayed to different audiences
Meta's justification is straightforward. Their systems believe they can improve engagement and performance by adapting creative to individual users.
Unfortunately, engagement and accuracy aren't always the same thing.
Brand consistency matters
Every successful brand invests time creating a consistent identity.
The wording you use, the imagery you select and the way you communicate all contribute to how customers perceive your business.
When AI begins making independent decisions about those assets, consistency quickly starts to break down.
These aren't hypothetical concerns. They're happening every day inside advertising accounts across the world.
The irony is that many businesses invest heavily in brand guidelines, approval processes and quality control, only to risk handing creative control back to an automated system.
Use Advantage+ with caution
We're not arguing against AI in advertising.
Used properly, AI can help analyse data, identify trends, automate repetitive tasks and improve campaign efficiency.
But creative control is different.
When platforms begin rewriting messages, reimagining visuals and changing approved assets, businesses need to pay attention.
Our recommendation is simple:
- Treat Advantage+ creative enhancements with caution
- Review every available setting before launch
- Monitor generated variations carefully
Don't assume that an option labelled as an improvement genuinely improves the outcome for your brand.
A better way to test creative
There's nothing wrong with testing different versions of an advert. It's one of the most effective ways to improve campaign performance.
The difference is that the variations should be created intentionally, not generated automatically by a platform that doesn't fully understand your brand and the context behind the campaign.
If you want to test messaging, imagery or calls to action, create multiple approved versions of the advert and run them against each other. You'll still learn what resonates most with your audience, but you'll maintain creative control throughout the process.
Thanks to Colin at www.goldingyoung.com for allowing us to feature these ads in the article. They made him laugh!
