The parts I didn't include in the post due to length were the previous ads (boosted posts, promote page, etc) I created and paid for before this very last one that I wrote about on my blog.

Those previous ads raised enough red flags for me to pay very close attention to my last one. That's not to say that I didn't pay close attention to the others; I was tracking data and seeing how well Japan-only targeted ads (that included both Japanese and English language) performed against Vietnam-only targeted ads, and how well those two performed against ads that targeted Japan, Vietnam, and Korea all at the same time.

The data collected and differences among the three were enough for me to conclude that something foul was afoot.

Sure, there may be 30 other variables that could've gone wrong here. However, M's verbal (via phone) approval of how I created my ad and crafted my targeting and the consistently large amounts of garbage accounts from VN leads me to believe that this entire thing was a waste.

Furthermore, again, FB makes it so easy for new FB page owners to believe that they can drop $5 here and $10 there to promote anything--a post, their page, and even their website. I gather that FB WANTS these page owners to pay these small amounts 30 times to play trial-and-error, even though doing so still only puts these page owners 1) up against larger budgets, and 2) in front of garbage accounts that are only cleaned up once a year in FB's annual sweep.

I'll add that the current, Self Promoting UX is borderline scammy.

agreed. I think the OP would be shocked to learn about the insane practices you have to deal with buying from 'less reputable' types of ad networks. think popunders, banners, full page take overs, etc.

Think buying traffic which you know is 90% accidental, or buying traffic where 100% of the audience does not want to see your ad. Or even ads that literally disrupt user experience.

There are people buying these ads for a profitable purpose and making buckets of money.

In my experience, literally ANY CPC based platform can be profitable.

The only time i've seen advertising never work is in the banner / media buying industry, but that's just my personal experience. It wouldn't be a billion dollar industry unless a few people were making it work for themselves.