The RNIB launched the ad on its YouTube channel and has been seeking to run a campaign featuring the video across Facebook.
The campaign, which aims to promote the need for sight loss advisers in every UK hospital, uses the common charity advertising tactic of making viewers think about how they would feel if their health was under threat.
In the ad, a woman is seen becoming teary eyed as a voiceover explains that she has just been told she will lose her sight.
“You’ll fear for your job, your home, your life,” runs the voiceover. “You’ll see everyone losing their sight needs the right support.”
Facebook says "people dislike ads that directly address them or their personal characteristics"
Facebook’s advertising team has refused to clear the video ad for use in a campaign across its network, saying it breaks its guidelines on language that is “profane, vulgar, threatening or generates high negative feedback”.
Asking for clarification, the RNIB’s social media team received a further email response saying Facebook is not very keen on hard-hitting ads.
“We’ve found that people dislike ads that directly address them or their personal characteristics,” said a member of the Facebook Ads Team. “Ads should not single out individuals or degrade people. We don’t accept language like ‘fear of losing your sight, losing your job?’ and the like. Instead, text must present realistic and accurate information in a neutral or positive way and should not have any direct attribution to people.”
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