2 builders who never spoke to each other

Make the ad worth watching on its own

Nobody seeks out advertising, they seek out things that entertain them, so the ad has to earn the viewer's time by itself. A phone and one good idea now reach millions: six low budget spots range from five to twenty seven million views, and people forward jokes regardless of how dull the underlying product is, with flea markets, razors and roller skating all clearing millions. A meme in the creative cleared double the sector average click-through for an education product. The same instinct works offline, where deadpan literal labels on a subway station were one brand's only campaign in a decade.

The method

1. 01

   Make the ad funny, because people forward jokes regardless of how dull the underlying product is.

2. 02

   Nobody seeks out advertising, they seek out things that entertain them, so the ad has to justify the viewer's time on its own.

3. 03

   A phone and one good idea are now enough to reach millions of viewers, so a large production budget is no longer the gate on reach.

4. 04

   Put a meme in the paid ad creative when the problem you solve is one people already joke about being painful.

5. 05

   Take the joke into physical placements rather than keeping it on packaging: deadpan literal labels on a transit station were the only ad campaign needed in ten years.

What it returned

• 2%

  Paid growth consultant Aazar Ali Shad tested a meme ad for Doyobi, an online English learning platform, and cleared a 2% click-through rate, over double the education sector average.

• Flea markets, razors and roller skating all produced multi-million view ads

• Attributed to Howard Gossage

• Six examples ranging from 5M to 27M views

Sources

• Can you spot the real one? - Why We Buy 🧠Aazar Ali Shad · customercamp.co · Brainy Spotlight · undated
• My favourite low-budget viral adsHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · 6) Furkids Kitty Kommercial — 6M views · undated
• The genius of no name's brandHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · undated