Boredom
Ads and videos written to this emotion: 49. 44 make the Say move, 1 make the Avoid mistake.
The Emotion Map's entry, written for B2B buyers.
What it is
A restless flatness when nothing holds your attention, even though you're itching for something that would.
Where it shows up
A buyer scrolling past category ads that all say the same thing.
Sounds like
"Every agency deck looks the same."
Say
Something specific enough to be checked: a number, a named situation, a claim a competitor would not make.
Avoid
More polish on the same message. In System1's tests, the average US B2B TV ad drew 54% "neutral" responses, where viewers reported feeling no emotion, against 47% for all US TV ads (vendor whitepaper, 2024).
In consumer ads
Say: A specific the viewer can check: a number, a named situation, a claim no rival in the category would make.
Avoid: A prettier version of the line every ad in the category already runs. More polish on the same cliché still reads as the same ad.
Doing it right
Ads that make the Say move.
Agency house ad: Who Wants to Read a Page About Ash Cans?
It agrees nobody wants a page about ash cans, then gives checkable specifics: a corrugated Witt can lasting seven or eight years where cans once lasted months, and eighteen years of 56-line ads.
Kodak 35 camera ad, al-Kawakib 1940
Instead of praise it gives checkable numbers (an f/5.6 lens, a 1/100 second shutter, a printed price of 495) and asks the buyer to judge it beside the other models.
Shell Oil "This is the City of Tomorrow" ad
Against a gasoline category of look-alike claims, it hinges on TODAY and checkable figures: 4 miles in 5 are stop and go, and each stop wastes gas for 5 city blocks.
Atwater Kent radio ad, al-Musawwar 1931
Opens by saying a successful ad informs the public, then keeps it with checkable specifics: Model 72 with 9 valves at 38 pounds, Model 84 with 6 at 16, and dealers by town.
Wonderground Map of London Town poster
For passengers stuck four minutes on a platform, it packs London with landmarks and small jokes that only pay out at arm's length, so the poster rewards the hundredth look.
Parker Vacumatic fountain pen ad, al-Musawwar 1936
Its dare to compare comes with claims a buyer can check against his own pen at the counter: 102 percent more ink, ink visible in the barrel, no sac, lever or piston.
The Century for March poster: The Great Northwest
Instead of finished illustration, it shows raw sketches floating unframed and says so: 'Sketches in Seattle from the Artist's Note-book', a checkable sign that the artist was actually there.
Mende radio set ad, al-Musawwar 1934
It cuts through radio sameness with facts a buyer can check: the only four-valve superhet, a valve tax of just 20 piastres, and power at a millieme and a half an hour.
Bounty paper towels ad with Nancy Walker as Rosie, Woman's Day
In a parity category, half a Bounty sheet is set against a full sheet of the next best 2-ply towel on equal spills, a checkable test wrapped in a magician's act.
Kolynos toothpaste ad, al-Musawwar 1925
A ruler under the brush measures one centimetre of paste, a dose the reader can test the next morning, and one tube lasting 100 brushings turns the value claim into a checkable number.
Agency house ad: Selling America's most skeptical purchaser
Among 180 tractor makers trading claims, the Trundaar campaign showed how the machine was built, feature by feature, and the ad closes on a checkable result: the entire output sold within a few months.
Kolynos toothpaste ad, al-Musawwar 1925
Instead of a vague cleaning claim, it measures the dose on a ruler: one centimetre is enough because the paste has no water or filler, so one tube lasts a hundred brushings.
تطبيق "جاهز" من زين، شاهد فيديو بدون توقف وبلا حدود مع تطبيق "جاهز"
It speaks to the bored, waiting viewer with checkable specifics, Instagram videos free without using the data bundle, goals and comedy, not a polished version of a data promise.
زهقانين؟ #لوّن_صيفك بوجهات صيف السعودية 👾
It meets the viewer's flat, scrolling mood with something specific enough to check: a named event, the EWC, in a named city, Riyadh, rather than a vague promise of fun.
#لوّن_صيفك بالفعاليات العالمية في الرياض! 👾
It names the viewer's flat mood with "زهقانين" and answers with one specific, checkable thing: the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, not a generic promise of a fun summer.
Written to viewers numb to look-alike telecom spectacles, it drops the polish and wins with one checkable specific: a million minutes and messages.
Doing it wrong
Ads that make the Avoid mistake.
ADCB: TouchPoints Flex, a new way to experience loyalty
The one line promises a new way to experience loyalty, a claim every bank card makes, and the only evidence is the card lit like a product render, with no benefit, fee or term.
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