Félix Vallotton - Ah! La Pé...Lapé...La Pépinière!!! Revue, 1898
The pattern
This still is filed under Demonstration ad.
Define
The product does the arguing. The viewer sees the thing work, not a slogan about the thing working.
Mechanism
Proof by performance. The claim is the action: a visible, testable result the reader can replay.
Verdict
We can show a result in seconds
Why it works
It is a reaction shot, not a product shot. The poster never depicts the show; it depicts the effect of the show on people who look exactly like the passer-by, so the reader supplies the jokes himself. The stammered headline is a performance of the title rather than a statement of it - the ellipses make the eye trip and stutter over the word the way a laughing person would, which converts a flat name into an event. Flat colour with no shading forces the design to work at fifty paces while the descending type ladder holds a close reader for the details, so one sheet does both the billboard job and the handbill job.
Steal this when
Use this when the product itself is unphotogenic or gives away its own punchline, and the real evidence is how people react to it. It is the structure for comedy, entertainment and anything where crowd enjoyment is the proof.