Hey - It's Carson.

Welcome back to Madvertising. I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to increase the madness here. So, I’m turning it up a couple of notches. I wanna bring value AND make you laugh every week, so you don’t fall asleep while I blab about ads and brain science.

So, let’s get right into it.

Fun fact: There’s an underwater post office in the South Pacific.

The Vanuatu Post is the world’s only under-the-sea post office off the coast of Hideaway Island Resort. Vacationers who want to send a waterproof postcard home can snorkel or scuba dive 10 feet below the ocean’s surface. A special flag is erected above the water when postal workers are in the water.

Means of retrieval and delivery—still unknown, but I’ll get to the bottom of it.

When I get a client who’s down to do something with this, I’m confident we can break the internet (and drop ship fidget spinners).

Anywho, let’s jump into this week’s ads.

Ads of the Week

Nike, Jumpspeak, Inflow, WD-40, Ricola

Nike

🧠 Principle: The Bandwagon Effect

🖋️ Definition: People tend to do what others are doing to “keep up with the Joneses”.

💡 Why it works: Well, probably because our need for our mother’s approval trumps our smart decision-making. But who knows…

Nike doesn't scream at you, "buy our shoes". They imply everyone already has. The headline? Chef’s kiss.

“Word of foot” is a play on “word of mouth,” but with a literal twist. Not only does it attract people with a foot fetish, but it taps the Von Restorff Effect, we remember things that are unusual or unexpected.

“You’ve seen them on training tracks and fields all over the country.”

“Our shoes do most of our advertising for us.”

By pointing to mass adoption among “serious runners,” the ad gives you social proof: if everyone in your tribe (runners) wears them, then clearly… you should too.

That’s where the Bandwagon Effect comes into play.

And “Because you’re a serious runner.” Nike flatters you more with the assumption you’re already a part of the elite athletes. That identity-based targeting speaks to who we WANT to be, not just what we want to buy.

Runners don’t just want shoes, they want validation that they’re a runner.

Jumpspeak

🧠 Principle: Contrast Principle

🖋️ Definition: The idea that our perception of something is influenced by what we've recently perceived.

💡 Why it works: When two things are shown next to each other, our brain automatically exaggerates their differences to make sense of the comparison.

Left = dark, dull, shame-driven (gray sad owl, broken streak energy)

Right = bright, human, active (eye contact, real speech bubble)

The color differences give signals to your brain that Jumpspeak is the more favorable option.

The header, “Your streak means nothing if you can’t speak…” gives a contrast to Duolingo. Just because you’re on a 180-day heater means jack shit. A streak doesn’t mean you can speak Italian (I can barely speak English).

That itself is cognitive dissonance. Your brain goes: “Wait... am I wasting time?” According to Jumpspeak, yes.

Instead of glorifying a “streak,” they shame an egotistical metric. It creates pain. And they become the solution to fix that pain.

Inflow

🧠 Principle: Mirroring

🖋️ Definition: The subconscious or intentional imitation of another person's behaviors to make people feel more aligned and understood by the person/brand.

💡 Why it works: (Shoutout to Christina for giving me this one)

Pro tip: Instead of talking to the user, speak as them.“We know what it’s like to have ADHD!” This line instantly connects Inflow to their customers’ identity.

1. In-group bias: People trust others who they believe “get” them.

2. Self-referencing effect: We're more likely to engage with personally relevant messages.

Both of these psychology principles position Inflow as a community for anyone with ADHD, not another SaaS bro tool.

Plus, when they say, “We’ll remind you before your trial ends… if you forget to cancel… We’ll refund you.” It just makes those of us with ADHD trust you more… because I promise you, we will absolutely forget to cancel a free trial.

By being openly honest, they build reciprocal trust. (→ You trust us, we won’t screw you.)

ADHD brains often carry:

1. Shame for being “forgetful.”

2. Anxiety about missing deadlines.

3. Decision paralysis around signing up.

But Inflow removes the emotional tax. Instead of penalizing ADHD traits, it acknowledges and adapts to them. They get it.

Meet people where they are, not where you wish they were.

WD-40

🧠 Principle: Embodied Cognition

🖋️ Definition: A theory that emphasizes the role of the body, brain, and environment in shaping cognitive processes.

💡 Why it works: If you want to stand out with your ads, don’t do what everyone else does.

Why I love this ad: it hijacks the actual use case in a physical form different from its intended use.

It makes the benefit tangible through a visual interaction and reinforces the product’s function.

You don’t want people to just read the message, you want them to feel it.

Replacing the spine with a hinge is a smart, high-contrast metaphor that requires minimal cognitive load to “get it.”

Then it makes the copy (“That’s how easy opening rusty hinges is…”) easy to understand the benefit.

When you can show how your product feels and include a short, clear line of copy, people will understand the outcome your product gives. That’s embodied cognition.

No features, long copy, or bullshit needed.

Ricola

🧠 Principle: Incongruity-Resolution Theory

🖋️ Definition: Humor occurs when something is perceived as incongruent (unexpected or out of place) and then successfully resolved.

💡 Why it works: “You look good” (thanks) is just a normal compliment we all love to hear. But then… (cough) is inserted mid-sentence, disrupting the message flow and instantly altering tone and meaning.

We all know the feeling. The movie lines. And the awkwardness that this could bring to a situation.

The unexpected *cough* is what activates our incongruity-resolution, where the brain spots a contradiction and resolves it by rethinking the context.

Result? It grabs attention, triggers a laugh, and becomes more memorable because it’s a relatable feeling.

“Make sure good news sounds like good news.”

Don’t cough mid-sentence when you’re at a funeral… “Your grandma *cough* was such a nice lady.”

That’d make things pretty awkward.

Here's an ad I made for Guinness

Sigh, that’s all for this week. Drop your thoughts below or reply to this email with how I did. Any feedback is greatly appreciated, so I can improve this every week for you.

By the way, if you know someone who’d like this newsletter, be sure to forward it to them and make their day. ;)

Til next week.

Stay Mad,

- Carson 🧪

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