Curiosity
Ads and videos written to this emotion: 203. 130 make the Say move, 16 make the Avoid mistake.
The Emotion Map's entry, written for B2B buyers.
What it is
Interest that grows into a need to know. It pulls in feelings too, which makes it riskier.
Where it shows up
A leader who has noticed a gap in their own numbers and wants to close it.
Sounds like
"How do companies our size measure this?"
Say
Name the gap precisely and close part of it. Leave the rest for the conversation.
Avoid
A tease that withholds the answer. Senior buyers read it as a trick.
In consumer ads
Say: Name the gap precisely and close part of it in the ad itself: the question the reader has, and a real piece of the answer.
Avoid: A tease that withholds the answer, such as a headline that promises a secret and never tells it. The reader takes it as a trick.
Doing it right
Ads that make the Say move.
Riwayat al-Hilal The Mayerling Tragedy novel ad, al-Kawakib 1952
The torn banner gives away the ending, two lovers who chose to die together, and sells the true story of how it happened, so the reader knows exactly what is missing.
LEMCO "Kitchen Conjuring" ad, The Sketch, 1901
Kitchen Conjuring names the gap, how some cooks make materials go twice as far, asks What is the secret? and closes it with LEMCO and the concentrated beef claim.
Tabibak al-Khass health magazine issue ad, al-Kawakib 1969
Each teaser names a precise private question, why some foods cause migraine, how Anis Mansour got rid of colitis, and closes part of it by naming the doctor who answers inside.
Agency house ad: The Romance of a Macaroni Box
The headline pairs a macaroni box with romance, then answers it fully: meat skewers, rubber bands, a photo of the first Comptometer beside the latest, and 2 years, 11 months, 6 days to sell 100.
Riwayat al-Hilal Agatha Christie novel ad, al-Kawakib 1954
The copy tells the whole setup, a cultured woman murdered and ten people suspected, and even the twist that the killer is the least suspected, withholding only the name.
Little Leather Library 30 great books ad, 1922
It asks the reader to guess what 30 leather books are worth, prints 884 guesses averaging $18, then closes the gap with the $2.98 price in the coupon.
Nafs Mu'adhdhaba film ad, Metro cinema Cairo, al-Kawakib 1955
It lays out the whole conflict, two brothers fighting over one woman who suffers for her love, then asks how did it end and who won, leaving only that to the Metro screen.
Pabst Blue Ribbon comic-strip ad, Liberty, 1941
A player stymied on the green pulls the reader through four tiers of panels, and the strip pays it off: the dog's delay becomes the time out and 33 to 1 becomes 33 brews.
al-Hilal magazine Moon Age issue ad, al-Kawakib 1957
It turns the new Moon Age into exact questions, why do we go to the moon, who owns the moon, each signed by a named expert, then sets 198 pages against 10 piasters.
Peace has brought a new selling problem: trade ad for a market data book
The sidebar is written as questions about the reader's own territories with a few answers shown, Los Angeles up 58%, Boise 95%, so he feels the gap and the $2.50 book closes it.
al-Musawwar magazine serial ad, al-Kawakib 1959
It names the gap precisely, the hidden side of cases readers already know, and closes part of it by naming the teller: Imam Ibrahim, former head of the political police, from Thursday 2 July.
The Mad Hopes theatre poster, by Romney Brent
It names the novelty exactly, a Surrealist setting for the first time, then shows part of it with profiles that turn into one another, and adds the opening date, curtain and prices.
New Crunch Commercial Ramadan 2014 - The Girls
The girls ask the exact puzzle, how can Crunch be crunchy and melting at once, and the voiceover closes it with the product: crunchy triangles with melting chocolate inside.
VIVA Ramadan TVC teaser 2015 اتهقون شبيصير؟
The teaser tells the whole setup, bullies ordering 'Come on, get out', the match 'our team against your team', the little sister seeking help, then names the open question: what happens next.
إعلان اللبان السحرى - ذكريات زمان
The name promises magic and the song explains it: the colours change as you chew, and it tells children which colour to start with to end on another, so the trick is shown, not teased.
Each 'what if' names a precise gap, soil quality and the herd's location, and the Vodafone end card presents the brand as the answer instead of leaving a tease.
The question names a precise gap, medicine that reminds you to take it, and the next card closes part of it: this is now possible with Vodafone's digital innovations.
The question names a precise gap, learning inside a virtual world, and the next card closes part of it by saying Vodafone's digital innovations already make it possible.
Doing it wrong
Ads that make the Avoid mistake.
Tiring clothing store ad, al-Kashkul 1928
A very great opportunity is announced with no item, price or date, so the reader is sent to al-Ataba al-Khadra to learn what the ad itself refuses to say.
Seconds alternate concept film poster
The poster withholds the whole premise: a stripped figure in a black box that reads as both gift case and coffin, with no line or plot to close any part of the gap.
Gloria teaser ad, al-Kashkul 1929
One hand-lettered word, Gloria, and a question mark, with no product, price or address: the reader is not told what the gap even is, only that an answer will come later.
Collier's cover poster, The House of Devils, 1913
'The House of Devils' is set largest and left wholly unexplained beside an unrelated couple in summer sportswear, so the cover withholds the answer and uses the mismatch as the trap.
Panda: a Tuesday offer teased without a reveal
The post says only stay close and Tuesday at Panda is different, naming no product, price or discount, so the tease gives the reader nothing specific to wonder about.
Virgin Mobile KSA: A teaser for something coming soon
One word, coming soon, over a phone silhouette behind a red door, with no date, feature or price: the ad withholds everything and names no gap the reader could think about.
Al Rajhi Bank: card use tied to a chance at a million
The order to look for Kamalyoon rests on a word the slide never defines, and nothing closes any part of it: no reward terms, no price, no step, only the card on an infinity loop.
Summer issue teaser house ad, al-Kawakib 1964
Its one line, read what this picture says in the summer issue, leaves the gap unnamed and gives no part of the answer: only a laughing star in a bubble bath.
Fadiha fil-Zamalek film ad, al-Kawakib 1959
The title pairs scandal with Zamalek and stops there: no picture, no glimpse of the story, and not even a cinema, date or price, so the tease leads nowhere.
al-Musawwar reader prize contest ad, al-Kawakib 1933
A huge 100 promises winners, but the ad withholds both the prize and the way to win, so its only content is 'see the explanation in the next al-Musawwar'.
Carrefour: a two-day countdown asking which gift you wish for
The card opens a gap, a gift coming in two days, but names no event, offer or store, so no part of the answer is given before the reveal.
Carrefour: iPhone money buys more from us than you think
The post shows only the foldable iPhone and asks the reader to choose it or 'all these things', which never appear, with no product, price or prize: a tease that withholds the answer.
Schweppes Secret Commercial Hassan Abedine 1980s 2 YouTube
Hassan Abdeen chases the secret of Schweppes as guard, cowboy and duke, yet it is never told; the only answer, natural fruit and refreshing bubbles, describes the drink without closing the gap.
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