Hey - It's Carson.

Today’s a great day. Not for any other reason other than the fact that I am not a dragonfly.

Fun fact: The lifespan of a dragonfly ranges from around a week to eight weeks.

Imagine only having that long to live… life really would go by fast.

Anywho, we’re back with more ads this week, but before we get into that, I have an announcement for you:

I spent 18 hours last week creating a spreadsheet of over 100 ad psychology principles, their definitions, and examples for each.

If you want access to it, I’m giving it out for FREE to you first.

Just reply “PSYCHED” to this email and I’ll ping it to ya.

Now! On to this week’s best ads…

Ads of the Week

Polaroid, Lemme, Revolution Cooking, Motion, Dad Gang

Polaroid

🧠 Principle: Social Identity Theory

🖋️ Definition: Our self-concept includes an understanding of our group belonging and explains that we’re motivated to seek a positive self-concept by favoring our own groups over others’.

💡 Why it works: The current cultural divide of AI and online life vs real life is massive. I think we can both agree on that.

But this Polaroid ad uses that divide to connect with those of us who value “authenticity” versus those who want to “AI-ify” and digitalize everything.

“Real Stories, Not Stories & Reels” refers to Instagram stories and reels and creates a contrast between real life and online life. It positions Polaroid as being “for people who want to live and remember the real thing.”

Our brain latches onto this comparison because it simplifies decision-making: digital = fake, Polaroid = real.

They also use nostalgia for the tactile, analog experience of photography. Nostalgia not only triggers warm emotions from our past but also increases perceived value and loyalty.

(People feel that a Polaroid photo is more authentic than a fleeting Instagram post.)

Lemme

🧠 Principle: Information Gap Theory

🖋️ Definition: Our awareness of unknown information can trigger curiosity and motivate action to fill that gap.

💡 Why it works: Ok, before I get into this ad, I need to give you a disclaimer: I see these fairly often, and I have heard mixed reviews about their performance. I don’t see them as a long-term performer, but they could do well.

Anyway, by marking it with a “Sensitive Content” banner, it mimics the way social platforms blur out NSFW or inappropriate material.

Which instantly makes us more curious because if it’s hidden, it must be worth clicking.

It also uses credibility with “science-backed solution” and “clinically-studied Actiponin®”. People trust authority figures or credible sources (like science, medicine, or clinical research), so this framing reduces skepticism and gets us to believe in the product’s effectiveness.

Revolution Cooking

🧠 Principle: Autonomy Bias

🖋️ Definition: We are more inclined to things that don’t challenge or threaten our feeling of freedom.

💡 Why it works: Humans process things that are simple, structured, and familiar much faster.

So, without having to even think about it, you just look at the image and you understand that Revolution gives you control over exactly how toasted your bread is.

Reduce friction and processing effort at ALL costs all the time.

Since they show a full spectrum of toast "shades," they demonstrate extreme personalization to a literal degree.

Everyone has a preference for their toast (some of us like it barely warm, others charred). But by mapping these out, the ad takes the toaster from a commodity to a pretty unique utility.

Motion

🧠 Principle: Pattern Interrupt

🖋️ Definition: A neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) technique that disrupts a person's habitual thought, behavior, or routine to capture their attention and make them more receptive to a new message or behavior

💡 Why it works: Work notifications normally equal stress. And here, you expect more stress… but then, Motion breaks your usual pattern recognition and disrupts it by sliding in with “Looks like you need an AI assistant.”

The frame of the problem is: “You’re overwhelmed with too many tasks and messages.”

The solution: “Looks like you need an AI Assistant.”

This creates a before → after contrast, making the value obvious and clear to get people to click.

BUT… since Motion is using common platforms (Slack, Gmail, Teams), the target audience who sees this ad thinks, “That’s literally my day.”

And since they identify with that pain point, they click and check out the app. It builds instant identification and trust without having to use testimonials because it’s “social proof” through lived experience/identity.

Dad Gang

🧠 Principle: Social Identity Theory

🖋️ Definition: Our self-concept includes an understanding of our group belonging and explains that we’re motivated to seek a positive self-concept by favoring our own groups over others’.

💡 Why it works: Now, I happen to know this ad is actually ripping for Dad Gang, and I’m gonna tell you exactly why.

It makes fun of the idea of a “37U Football League” and dads pushing past their physical limits, and turns it into humor and a sales pitch.

Some of us hold onto our youth/athletic ability by joining leagues, but acknowledge the reality of sore knees, injuries, and aging (some of us being me).

Instead of mocking this, though, it creates an “in-group” identity of dads who can laugh at themselves and embrace the “dad life.”

Middle-aged dads know their knees aren’t what they used to be (my aren’t either after 2 knee surgeries).

So instead of attacking that, it validates the pain point and redirects them to an easier way to embrace their identity (and cheaper).

Here's an ad I made for Bud Light

That’ll be a wrap for this week my friend.

As always, thanks for reading, and hope you enjoyed.

Feel free to forward this to your friends. It only takes 10 seconds. Writing this takes me about 10 hours every week.

And I would greatly appreciate it.

Till next week.

Stay Mad,

-Carson 🧪

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