Curiosity gap

The pattern

This still is filed under Curiosity gap.

Define

A missing piece is named but not filled, so the reader has to continue to close the loop.

Mechanism

Incomplete pattern. Attention is the itch. The next line is the scratch. The gap is a debt we must pay.

Verdict

The following sentence can pay off the gap with a fact, a name, or a mechanism

Why it works

The headline is a riddle, what is the secret of these birds, set over three young women the ad calls birds, followed by two more questions: is it love, or is it marriage. The answer sits inside a giant horseshoe, the sign of luck that spells the title without words, framing the smiling couple. The reader has to go down to the title and the opening date to close the loop.

The big idea

Three girls hush the reader and ask what their secret is, love or marriage, and the answer is a lucky horseshoe: the film Good Luck.

The offer

The musical comedy al-Hazz al-Saeed, written by Abu al-Saud al-Ibyari and directed by Fouad al-Gazayerli, opening 4 October at Cinema Cosmos in Cairo and Alexandria.

The proof

Star names on the horseshoe, Hussein Sidqi and Raga Abdou, a photo of Bishara Wakim, and a named writer and director.

Lines from the ad

ما سر هذه العصافير؟!

What is the secret of these birds?

هل هو الحب؟ أو هو الزواج!

Is it love? Or is it marriage?

مفتاح السر فى فيلم: الحظ السعيد

The key to the secret is in the film Good Luck

Steal this when

When the product name is a feeling, pose a light question and let a symbol of that feeling hold the answer.

The emotion

Written to Curiosity. It makes the Say move.

The riddle, what is these birds' secret, love or marriage, is answered inside the ad by a lucky horseshoe framing the couple, the sign of the title Good Luck, before the 4 October opening.