Hey - It's Carson.

Fun fact: In the 80s, Fredric Baur, the founder of Pringles, asked his kids to bury him in a Pringles can when he died. His children honored the request. Talk about commitment. Savage.

I’m heading to NYC tomorrow at the ass-crack of dawn to shoot ads with a client the rest of the week.

Safe to say I’m ready to ask strangers to be on the internet (not in a weird way).

Anywho, let’s get into this week’s ads before I make you run away.

Ads of the Week

Asset, London Fog, New Balance, Poly Brite, Pro LED

Asset

🧠 Principle: Benign Violation Theory

🖋️ Definition: Things are found humorous when they’re both a violation of expectations and are perceived as harmless.

💡 Why it works: Hate to be that guy (no I don’t), but butts and buttholes in ads is pretty funny. Just ask the Dude Wipes team.

People laugh, share, and remember things that break norms and are a little ~scandalous~. It stands out. I mean, seriously, this is a 1 of 1 ad.

If you thought, “Wait… is this actually for your butt?” then good, the curiosity makes you take a moment to process, which increases encoding and recall (and makes it impossible to scroll past).

This is “Hole Serum”, not skincare. Not lotion. Not even “body” serum. I talk and preach a lot about specificity in advertising. But specificity doesn’t always have to be written, it can be as simple as a clear visual that gets the point across.

The more people know, the fewer objections they have to overcome.

Btw, Asset did this with donuts too. Here it is below.

London Fog

🧠 Principle: Analogical Reasoning

🖋️ Definition: When we understand something unfamiliar or abstract by comparing it to something familiar.

💡 Why it works: Duck feathers repel water effortlessly, just like a London Fog coat.

Here’s how the psychology plays out:

Familiar association = duck → waterproof feathers.

Most people know the phrase “like water off a duck’s back.” It’s (almost) universally understood. But L.F. made that phrase a reality to show the effectiveness of their coats.

Your association is linked now to staying dry like a duck by using London Fog coats.

Seeing a duck in a human raincoat is a scroll-stopper (minus the fact that this is a print ad). But the weirdness gets your attention.

Here’s what the ad fundamentally says: If ducks are the gold standard of waterproofing in nature, and the coat works like duck feathers, this coat is the best at repelling water.

New Balance

🧠 Principle: Information Gap Theory

🖋️ Definition: Curiosity arises when there’s a knowledge gap.

💡 Why it works: The ad hinges entirely on the Curiosity Gap (the space between what we know and what we want to know).

The product is blurred, the copy is cryptic, and you’re left with an unresolved itch:

• “What do they look like?”

• “Why can’t I see them yet?”

• “What makes them so exclusive?”

If you recall, our brains remember unfinished tasks more than completed ones (Zeigarnik Effect), meaning this ad plants itself in your mind until you resolve the tension (by clicking, googling, or preordering).

Long story short, curiosity opens a loop that we can’t help but try to close.

“Too new to preview” implies you’re seeing something before the rest of the world, but you’re not allowed to have it yet.

Most sneaker ads just show the product. That’s literally all brands do nowadays (for the most part). Not a very high bar if you ask me.

This one blurs all that out. It breaks your scanning pattern and forces you to take a second look, then hopefully, act.

Poly Brite

🧠 Principle: Visual Metaphor

🖋️ Definition: When an image is used to represent something else, creating a symbolic representation of an idea, concept, or emotion.

💡 Why it works: If you want people to buy your product, sell the outcome.

I freaking love the visual metaphor in this ad. What looks like spilled milk is actually a metal grate in the shape of a puddle, and it “tells” you the spill isn’t there, because the cloth already absorbed it.

The metaphor lets the product show its effectiveness without saying a word.

When you can create an ad with just a visual, make it clear and simple, and it’s outcome-focused, you’re probably gonna win.

People remember visuals 6x more than text alone, and this image burns the “no spill” idea into your memory.

By not showing the cloth “in action”, only the aftermath, the ad suggests the cloth works so fast and so thoroughly, the spill barely existed.

Fire ad.

Pro LED

🧠 Principle: Gestalt Principle of Perception

🖋️ Definition: People perceive whole images, not just individual parts.

💡 Why it works: Gestalt psychology tells us that our brain interprets visuals based on overall structure rather than individual parts. When the context is ambiguous or incomplete, our brain fills in the gaps, which can mislead us.

On the left: The dim, vague lighting causes the figures to form a silhouette that strongly resembles a quite sexual act *cough*.

On the right: With clearer lighting, the full context is shown: it's actually a tender family moment of a father holding his child while the mother leans in for a kiss.

“Our LED lights change your perspective.” *mic-drop*

Humans hate not knowing what they’re seeing. The left side creates discomfort and curiosity from uncertainty.

But once clarity is restored (right side), it gives you relief, and that emotional contrast makes the message memorable. Brain science, baby, how cool is that!

By juxtaposing the same scene under two lighting conditions, the visual contrast is used to dramatize the benefits of the product.

Here's one of my favorite ads I’ve made. For Budweiser

Congrats, you made it through my jokes, memes, and ad breakdowns. That’s all I got for you this week.

If you wanna see more from me, check me out on all socials as @carsonbhoffman or @madvertisingusa

Til next week!

Stay Mad,

-Carson 🧪

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