Comparison
Ads and videos written to this emotion: 38. 7 make the Say move, 25 make the Avoid mistake.
The Emotion Map's entry, written for B2B buyers.
What it is
Ranking yourself against others, pulled between matching everyone and beating them.
Where it shows up
"What are our competitors doing?" in every brief.
Sounds like
"Our competitor is everywhere on Instagram."
Say
Move the comparison from the activity that is visible to the metric that matters to them.
Avoid
Copying the competitor's activity. Visible is not the same as working.
In consumer ads
Say: Move the comparison from what others can see to what matters to the reader: how it works, how long it lasts, what it does for them.
Avoid: Feeding the race to match what others visibly own: the car, the kitchen or the label bought so the neighbors notice.
Doing it right
Ads that make the Say move.
Arrow shirts ad, Bint al-Nil 1955
The headline's 'mark of distinction' rests not on fame alone but on a collar that regains its stiffness without starch, buttons that never come off and sleeve lengths per shirt, things the wearer checks himself.
Agency house ad: Like the One White Pea in a Pod
It rules out surface fixes by name, stunts of type, art work or plate making, and points the look-alike maker to a story worth 'a practical monopoly, as valuable as a patent'.
Harvey Nichols: cut puppet strings sell a fashion-forward woman
Slack puppet strings and the line INFLUENCED BY NONE move the choice away from matching what others dictate and onto the woman's own taste, as she walks toward the look she picked.
Gustave Stickley "Chips from the Workshop" booklet
"Our object is to substitute the luxury of taste for the luxury of costliness" moves the reader's ranking from visible expense to seasoned oak and unconcealed structure, shown in unshaded drawings.
مو ضروري تبيع فول مع خبز فرنسي عشان الناس تحب أكلك..
It moves the comparison away from visible size, a thousand workers, a skyscraper, to what matters to the owner: a business that succeeds and keeps going.
اعلان تكييف كاريير كامل HD ( أول تكييف زي بتاع منى ) رمضان 2017
The wife wants only an AC like Mona's, but her husband's odd questions draw out Wi-Fi control, a plasma filter and a compressor working above 52 degrees, moving the choice to the specs.
Doing it wrong
Ads that make the Avoid mistake.
al-Malika al-Saghira silks ad, al-Kashkul 1928
The headline 'to catch the glances of elegant women' sells the silk by how other women will look at the buyer, before a word about the Lyon mills or the fabric itself.
B. T. Babbitt's Best Soap, Soap for All Nations ad
'Cleanliness is the scale of Civilization' ranks nations by soap and puts Babbitt's at the top of that ladder, selling rank among peoples rather than anything the soap does for the buyer.
Alinma Bank: Stand out with Alinma Diamond, competitive membership requirements
'Stand out with Alinma Diamond' sells distinction over others through a tier name alone, with no benefit, threshold or reason given beyond requirements called competitive.
Hugo French-at-Sight ad, Time, 1927
The payoff is the friends' grins turning to amazement when the narrator orders in French, so the course is sold as a way to outshine the people at the table.
Omo detergent ad, al-Kawakib 1967
One Cairo University student turns in surprise at the other's whiter blouse, so the ad sells beating a classmate at a visible contest of whites rather than what the wash does for the reader.
Harper's is drawn as an accessory tucked under a well-dressed man's arm on his summer outing, selling the magazine as something people like him are seen carrying rather than for what is inside.
Wooltex wool fabrics ad, al-Kawakib 1967
'The elegant man accepts no substitute' turns the cloth into a test of taste the reader must match, instead of showing what Terylene fresco or mohair Dacron does for him.
The man tipping his hat and the woman he greets each carry a yellow copy, so the argument is that the right people are seen with it, not what the January issue holds.
Omo washing powder ad, al-Kawakib 1964
A friend stares open-mouthed at the son's glowing shirt, so the mother is sold a whiter shirt than other people's children wear, a race over what the neighbours can see.
Brewster & Co. of Broome Street carriage makers trade card
It shows a Brewster coach arriving head-on loaded with five men in top hats and a well-dressed woman, so the pull is being counted among that class, not anything about the carriage.
Aklir floor wax ad, al-Kawakib 1959
The headline sells the wax as what the homes of the great and the notable use, inviting the reader to match that standard, with only shine and beauty as the claim.
Pillsbury Cake Mixes 'Pillsbury thanks you' ad, 1953
The headline 'Isn't it your move?' over 'more Pillsbury Cake Mixes are bought than any other brand' pushes the reader to match what other cooks already do, before the milk-only promise.
If this library is useful, leave an email
We send new patterns, ads, and notes when we add them. Name and phone are optional.
You are on the list
We will write when we add more library material.