Hey - It's Carson.

We’re back with some absolute HEAT this week. And, I’ve got a great fun fact… but this week, it’s a fun fact about me.

Well, me and wasabi, but anyway, here it is.

Fun fact: In college, I once drank a concoction with beer, cream, hot sauce, olives, mayonnaise, and *drumroll* a whole tube of wasabi paste. It was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever drunk.

And no, this was not hazing, so don’t go writing a Title 9 violation. Also, wasabi paste is actually fake wasabi.

Okay, enough of me riffin’, let’s get into this week’s ads.

Ads of the Week

Farm Spoon, Nike, Nutella, Smirnoff, Heineken

Farm Spoon

🧠 Principle: Expectation Violation

🖋️ Definition: When something does not match our preconceived ideologies and understandings.

💡 Why it works: Our brains love patterns and predictability, but when something unexpectedly breaks that pattern, it gets their attention.

The ad starts with the familiar rhyme “I scream, you scream, we all scream…” which primes you to expect the usual ice cream chant.

Then it abruptly swerves left with “…when told it’s actually made with cauliflower,” and creates a funny disruption, making it memorable and… more shareable.

People keep reading when their brain gets confused, because they want to resolve it.

The unusual combo of chocolate ice cream + cauliflower is so weird it hooks you with a familiar childhood “war cry” hehehe, then shocks you with a “made with cauliflower” punchline.

Nike

🧠 Principle: Zeigarnik Effect

🖋️ Definition: People remember unfinished or interrupted tasks better than completed ones.

💡 Why it works: We HATE unfinished business. When we start a task and don’t finish, it lingers in our mind and creates a small, nagging tension.

Key word: tension.

Tension creating discomfort makes us pay attention and want closure.

The headline “IT’S OK IF YOU DON’T FINISH…” is intentionally cut off by the overlaid poster. The missing word (“SOMETHING”) is partially hidden, forcing you to complete the sentence yourself.

That unfinished visual triggers curiosity and keeps you engaged long enough to connect it to Nike’s message: it’s okay if your run/workout isn’t perfect; what matters is that you tried.

Let me just say this… I LOVE this ad. “It’s ok if you don’t finish” reframes potential failure as progress. And if you know Nike, all they’re about is trying.

It reinforces Nike’s “just try” ethos while getting attention through a non-familiar way with the incomplete visual.

Nutella

🧠 Principle: Forbidden Fruit Effect

🖋️ Definition: The tendency to desire something more once it becomes unavailable or restricted.

💡 Why it works: We (and very much so, I) have a natural tendency to resist restrictions on our freedom of choice.

When something is framed as “don’t do this,” it paradoxically increases the desire to do it (a concept tied to psychological reactance and the Forbidden Fruit Effect).

The ad literally tells you not to lick the page, which I, I mean, you… instantly want to do.

The reverse psychology makes Nutella feel irresistible. If they’re telling you not to taste it, it must be so delicious you’ll want to break the rule.

Simply thinking about tasting Nutella triggers sensory simulation in the brain, making you crave it more. And the text is written in what looks like thick, creamy Nutella spread, so your brain imagines its texture and taste.

Smirnoff

🧠 Principle: Anchoring

🖋️ Definition: Initial information heavily influences subsequent judgments.

💡 Why it works: People process meaning by contrast because contrast gives us a point of relativity.

When you place two similar-looking things side by side but give them radically different connotations, you’re forced to pause, resolve, and understand the difference.

Here, a domino usually starts a chain reaction, but not in this case. Because Smirnoff is the real trigger for fun that kicks off a chain of events.

When something harmlessly breaks a social or mental rule, it’s funny and sticks in our heads better. Here, calling a drink more powerful than a domino in setting off chaos is a playful, harmless exaggeration.

Just remember this: People want to associate themselves with products that promise exciting social experiences. If the drink is framed as the spark of a “crazy chain of events,” it signals that having Smirnoff means being at the center of fun.

Heineken

🧠 Principle: Shock Effect

🖋️ Definition: When something triggers a reaction of shock by eliciting sharp disgust, anger, fear, or similar emotions.

💡 Why it works: We’re wired to pay instant attention to something that feels wrong, taboo, or socially unacceptable.

Seeing a baby drinking beer is deeply incongruent with social norms (and dare I say, legendary), but it forces an immediate double-take because the violation shocks you, and look twice.

Dark or forbidden humor (when used safely) gets attention because people love sharing things that feel “edgy” or slightly wrong (plus it’s funny).

“Why we have the youngest customers in the business” is a. awesome, but b. cheekily plays on a horrifying concept (babies drinking beer) but with an obviously absurd tone, turning shock into dark humor.

Here's an ad I made for Laundry Sauce

Okay, that’s all I got this week. If you want more super sick and awesome content, be sure to follow me on my other socials below.

Until next week!

Stay Mad,

-Carson 🧪

---

If you're new, subscribe here​!

P.S. Enjoy the newsletter? Feel free to forward this to your friends. It only takes 10 seconds. Writing this takes me about 10 hours every week.

Click here to see how my team and I can help you get your best-performing ads or book a meeting.