Instagram keeps trying out annoying, intrusive ad formats. On Tuesday, the platform announced that it's testing new promoted prompts directly in your friends' Stories, pushing users toward promoted apps.
writes 404 Media

The ads we've seen thus far are for "Super Rumble," a game for Horizon Worlds, Meta's virtual reality platform. The ads pop up from the bottom of friends' stories, which can create the somewhat surreal experience of being advertised a virtual reality game on friends' posts where they are talking about political issues or world events.

So the promos may still be contained to Meta-owned properties for now, but with a view to linking potentially interested Instagram users back to its evolving VR experience.

Another example, this one from social media expert Matt Navarra, captures the promos above the Stories frame.
IG users have received the new test badly as many have been concerned that Instagram is trying to inject ads into their friends' content, disrupting the unsullied direct engagement experience.

And it's not the only invasive ad format Instagram is working on; the platform also tries out unskippable ads in the main feed that stop you from scrolling till the video ad has played.
So, why does Instagram need to turn to more disruptive ads?

Well, money, of course. And while users might gripe about the new ad formats, Meta's proof will probably be in the performance. If enough users tap through to "Super Rumble," or click on those promoted, unskippable ads, despite some negative comments, then it's likely to roll them out, another avenue toward driving business performance in the app.

Even if users claim they hate them, if they're clicking on them at high rates, Instagram is probably of the mind that they'll get used to it, with that initial pushback dying down over time.

So while they may be an annoying addition, they may well be the future, at least if they end up driving more results than other ads.

So if you don't like them, don't tap on them. I mean, you, in isolation, won't make much difference, but really, that will be the deciding factor, whether they are effective at driving clicks or not.

We've reached out for more information about this test to Instagram, and we will update this post if/when we hear back.