The psychology
Psychology
10 ideas that keep showing up behind ads that earn attention. Each one comes with the real ads that use it.
- Self-identificationPeople scan for themselves. When they spot themselves in an ad, they pay attention.
- Curiosity gapWhen we know something is missing, we want it closed.
- Pattern interruptionAn ad that breaks what we expect to see earns a pause.
- Platform-native familiarityA format we already know how to read lowers our guard.
- Social proofWe take cues from what other people say and do.
- Borrowed trustTrust we already have in a person, a source or a format carries over to the ad.
- Cognitive fluencyWhat is easy to read and understand feels easier to act on.
- InvitationThe ad asks the viewer to do something small in their head.
- Enemy framingNaming a shared enemy puts the brand and the customer on the same side.
- Correction impulseIt is easier to react to an opinion than to create one.
How to read this. A principle tagged on an ad is our reading of the creative. It is not proof of why the ad worked, and the Ad Library shows when ads ran, not how they performed.
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