Subvertising for Body Acceptance: How to Set up Your Own Facebook Ad Campaign

There’s been a really powerful reaction to the ad campaign I ran a few months ago.

The idea was to subvert the advertising that gets targeted to women and girls on Facebook about our bodies. As if we don’t get enough messages about how we ought to look as it is, now we have to look at them on Facebook all the time.

Many people have gotten in touch with me to ask if they can contribute money to the campaign — which is very generous. If this were the kind of thing that costs a lot of money to do, I would probably have accepted. But since it’s really cheap and simple to set up, it’s smarter for everyone to start their own campaigns.

Setting up an ad on Facebook is really easy. All you need is a Facebook account, a credit card, and this link. It costs as little as $5.00 a day — after you’ve spent your maximum daily ad budget, they stop showing your ad until the next day. You can limit how long your ad runs for as well.

Here are some pointers:

1. Spoof an existing weight loss ad on Facebook. You can see some examples of those at this post I wrote abut the issue.
2. Don’t mention the word “facebook” in the ad or have your ad link to any site that mentions Facebook. It’s against their terms of service and they’ll take your ad down.
3. Have your ad link to a site that inspires you to think positively about yourself and your body.
4. Include an image. If you’re looking for some inspiration, search Google images for terms like “beautiful curvy women” or “body image acceptance.” Then download your favorite to your hard drive and include it in your ad.

Building Facebook ads is almost as easy as commenting on my blog, and much easier than designing your own MySpace page. If you need any more tips, I’ll be happy to assist. Just leave me a comment.

Now go out there and get subvertising!