Hey - It's Carson.

I’ve got some incredible ads for you this week, but first, our insane fun fact this week…

Fun fact: On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens each year.

I’m gonna say what we’re probably all thinking: HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN???

Anyway, things have been a little crazy over here recently, like REALLY crazy.

Big projects, new clients, lots of growth on social media, and a whole lot of operations and systems going in place.

So, hopefully you’re doing well and keeping sane as the holidays begin to kick into full swing.

Let’s get into this week’s ads.

Ads of the Week

Sport Drink, Meno, The Pant Project, Bocker, Festa Della Musica

Sport Drink

🧠 Principle: Expectation Reversal

🖋️ Definition: The psychological technique of reverse psychology, where you suggest the opposite of what you want someone to do to make them do it anyway.

💡 Why it works: This ad uses negativity as a leverage point with a 1-star review to make the product more desirable.

You might be thinking, “How the hell do you do that?”

Answer: Reframe your product.

Your brain will expect praise in ads, so when a brand roasts itself or uses negativity about itself, it shocks your mind and signals confidence.

The “way too salty” complaint reframes saltiness as authenticity: this is what real hydration tastes like, not the sugary kids’ juice competitors push.

Your subconscious thinks: “If they’re willing to use a bad review, the product must actually be legit.” They flip a perceived flaw into a proof point.

Reverse Social Proof works SO well. If you are lucky enough to get a bad review, you can flip into a reframe and do the same thing.

Because instead of “everyone loves this,” it’s “people who are used to fake hydration don’t get it.”

This is what happens when DTC brands stop kissing consumers’ asses and start earning respect by showing why their product is actually worth a damn.

Meno

🧠 Principle: Peak-End Rule

🖋️ Definition: People judge experiences based on the peak (most intense moment) and the end.

💡 Why it works: This ad is a freakin’ banger (no pun intended).

It doesn’t pitch a supplement, it pitches the peak of a moment because menopause is often framed as a decline, but here it’s flipped into a sexual prime flex that friends’ husbands are jealous of.

The message itself uses our self-schema and identity reinforcement, which empowers, motivates, and makes the product feel like a gateway to confidence, youthfulness, and unapologetic sexuality.

The customer's quote becomes a permission slip for women to get their intimacy while in menopause.

And talking openly about sex in a menopause ad is a “rule break” that you don’t see often, so it feels refreshing, and quite “out there”.

Easy way to get attention.

Now, clearly, it also uses problem-solution framing to get people over the hump (again, no pun intended) and buy the product.

Value + shock effect = money in the bank.

My guess is that this ad printed (or is printing) bank.

The Pant Project

🧠 Principle: Culture-jacking

🖋️ Definition: Using cultural trends, movements, or memes to connect with audiences in a way that feels relevant and contemporary.

💡 Why it works: Now, personally, I like when my jeans fade a bit, but clearly, The Pant Project knows their audience hates when black jeans fade.

So, they drag that frustration into the spotlight and position the brand as the only solution.

BUT, before I dive any deeper into that, we all know the reason this ad stops the scroll is because it has the Breaking Bad-esque logo.

By surrounding the product with piles of sad, faded jeans + using a Breaking Bad–style “Fa” chemical motif, it does two things:

1. Frames color retention as a “scientific” differentiator.

2. Makes people think these are the type of jeans the Breaking Bad characters wear.

As I’m sure most of you know by now, we feel losses twice as strongly as gains.

The imagery of ruined jeans triggers the emotional pain of waste from buying these prevents loss, and subconsciously registers in your brain.

Plus, at the bottom, it subtly tags the benefits to drive the value home, and does it so well that the benefits are formatted as the “cast members” names at the bottom of TV/movie posters.

Probably my favorite of the week.

Bocker

🧠 Principle: Culture-jacking

🖋️ Definition: Using cultural trends, movements, or memes to connect with audiences in a way that feels relevant and contemporary.

💡 Why it works: This is just a brilliant job by Bocker’s marketing team using the Louvre Heist that happened last week as a great way to position their product with a sense of humor.

It places Böcker’s lift system in front of the Louvre, one of the world’s most guarded, culturally valuable spaces, which, like I said, was robbed last week.

And all it does is show that if it’s good enough for the Louvre Heist convicts, it’s good enough for you.

Other than that, not too much to say. But if you’re lucky enough to be able to position your brand in a cultural moment like this, jump on it.

Don’t be like Saratoga and miss your chance.

Festa Della Musica

🧠 Principle: Visual Metaphor

🖋️ Definition: An image that represents an abstract concept by using a concrete image, making a comparison without words.

💡 Why it works: This ad dramatizes music as a literal necessity for survival — like oxygen. By using the visual metaphor of a headphone replacing a CPR oxygen mask, the campaign taps into the vitality effect: when something is positioned as essential to life, demand becomes emotional, not rational. People who identify deeply with music instantly feel:

“Yeah… that’s me. I need it to live.”

This transforms a music festival from entertainment to a core human experience, elevating urgency and desire.

2️⃣ Supporting Psychological Principles

• Identity-Based Messaging

“FOR THOSE THAT CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT IT” creates a tribe of true music lovers → belonging + pride = stronger engagement.

• Incongruity Shock

Headphones used as a medical rescue device disrupt expectation → fast attention, deeper memory encoding.

• Fear of Missing Out (Mortality Framing)

The visual implies that without this festival, you’re missing life itself. FOMO with existential stakes = insanely influential.

• Emotional Transference

The intensity of a life-or-death situation transfers to the emotional power of the festival → amplifies perceived importance.

• Hero Narrative

The rescuer imagery makes the event feel like a savior for those whose lifeblood is music.

3️⃣ TL;DR — Why It Works

It takes the passion for music and escalates it to oxygen-level necessity — making the festival feel like something no true music lover can skip.

It’s bold. It’s dramatic. It’s a dopamine defibrillator.

Here's an ad I made for Nike (in honor of NYC marathon this weekend)

That shall conclude this week’s newsletter, my friend. As always, thank you for reading (if you actually read it).

If you enjoyed it and know someone else who would, please send it their way. It helps this newsletter grow!

Other than that, be sure to check me out on all other socials too, been having a great time on LI, X, TT, and IG, and growing like crazy.

Till next week.

Stay Mad,

-Carson 🧪

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