TIKTOK ADS: DO THEY DRIVE YOU GRAZY TOO?

You're scrolling through TikTok, enjoying funny videos and inspiring content, and then... bam! An advertisment. Often so well blended into the overall TikTok style that it takes you a few seconds to realize you're actually watching a commercial. Sound familiar? That’s exactly the power of TikTok marketing, and some companies are already taking full advantage of it.

TikTok has drastically changed how businesses advertise. Unlike traditional ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, which are often clearly commercial, TikTok content feels much more organic. This means brands must be increasingly creative to capture users' attention.

Additionally, TikTok oers businesses a platform to interact directly with their audience. Through comments, duets, and stitches, users can engage with campaigns and brands in ways that were previously impossible.

An Example: @upfront’s Clever Ad

A great example of excessive TikTok marketing is the strategy used by @upfront. Instead of relying on traditional advertising, they use a bold promotional tactic: oering extremely high discounts on their products. However, the key to their success isn't just the discount itself—it’s how they market it through TikTok.

Upfront, in this case, heavily promotes their discounts through a ood of TikTok ads, ensuring their brand reaches a massive audience. The high discount acts as a hook, enticing users to make an initial purchase. Through this way they increase brand awareness and generate widespread engagement as users share the deal with their followers.

To be honest, seeing @upfront's ads pop up constantly on your For You Page can be a bit irritating. The repetition can make it feel like you’re being bombarded with their promotions, making some users skeptical or even annoyed. However, this aggressive marketing approach is intentional. By being all over on TikTok, they create a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out), making users more likely to take advantage of the deal before it’s gone.

Despite the occasional annoyance, the real genius of their approach lies in customer retention. Once they attract a large number of rst-time buyers through their aggressive discounting strategy, they focus on keeping these customers returning.

Whether through quality service, follow-up marketing, or additional promotions, @upfront ensures that their initial investment in discounts translates into long-term customer loyalty.

This strategy exemplies how TikTok can be used not just for brand exposure but also for converting engagement into real business growth. By leveraging viral marketing techniques, they turn a simple promotional campaign into a long-term customer acquisition funnel.

TikTok Techniques for Companies

Companies use various strategies to advertise on TikTok:

1. In-feed ads: These ads appear between regular videos and don’t feel like traditional advertisements. Often, they mimic the style of popular TikToks, making them less disruptive.
2. Collaborations with inuencers: Inuencer marketing is huge on TikTok. Brands partner with well-known TikTok creators to promote their products or services. This results in a more natural and credible advertising message.
3. Hashtag challenges: Brands create their own challenges and encourage users to participate by performing a specic dance or action. This boosts engagement and provides free promotion as users generate their own content around the brand.
4. Branded filters and effects: Some companies develop their own TikTok lters or eects, allowing users to interact with the brand in a fun and creative way.

For companies: to become active on TikTok, or to ignore this trend?

Despite the fact that both some people and companies still portray TikTok as the platform where young people do funny dances to songs, this is no longer the case. TikTok has become an essential part of the social media world, proving itself as a platform where content can go viral at incredible pace. With over a billion active users worldwide, it presents enormous opportunities for businesses to get their brand noticed. The unique algorithm and easy way to share content with friends ensures that even small accounts with a great video can reach millions of people. This makes TikTok an attractive place for brands that want to connect with their target audience in authentic and creative ways.

TikTok in 2025

So, while some users may nd TikTok ads annoying, the platform oers businesses a unique opportunity to promote their brand in a playful, authentic way. Whether through sponsored videos, creative challenges, or inuencer collaborations, the possibilities seem endless.

So, next time you come across ads that looks just like a regular TikTok, take a closer look. Chances are, it's a clever marketing strategy that perfectly taps into how we consume content in 2025.