Growth Newsletter #238

We hate "the same old shit."

Our brains evolved to detect the abnormal because it had a significantly higher chance of leading to either death or thriving.

As a result, we adapt to anything incredibly quickly—even something that initially shocked or terrified us— and it becomes part of the mundaen.

That's the whole idea behind the ​Law of Shitty Clickthroughs​:

‍Over time, all marketing strategies result in shitty clickthrough rates.
— Andrew Chen, partner at a16z

For example, the first banner ad ever on HotWired had a CTR of 78%. Today, the average CTR on a Google Display ad is about 0.60%.

This, of course, happens to every channel and tactic eventually:

This rise and fall happens for two compounding reasons:

1. Marketers ruin everything. Anything that works gets overused.
2. We crave novelty. Something is only interesting the first few times.

So the truly fundamental rule of marketing is:

Don't be so f*cking boring.

The Man in the Hathaway Shirt

Nobody knew this better than advertising legend David Ogilvy.

Ogilvy first became famous due to his legendary ad campaign for his upstart fashion client, Hathaway:

Ogilvy randomly decided to pick up some eyepatches on his way to the photoshoot and got the photographer to humor him and take a few photos.

The ad caused Hathaway to quickly sell every shirt in the city. Hathaway and Ogilvy both became instantly famous from this ad.

All because of a stupid eye patch that cost 50 cents.

Other great examples of silly ideas

Is that a house arrest device?

Here's Dara Denney's YouTube video that inspired this newsletter:

Shoe brand ​Labucq​ cleverly slapped some sort of electronic device on the model's ankle in an ad—and gave absolutely zero context on what it is.

Guaranteed, nearly anyone who looks at the end will stare at that device and wonder what it is. They're also likely to click into the comments to see if anyone says what it is. They may even click to the website.

That's significantly more time and attention on the ad than for a boring old ad featuring someone's feet.

The incredibly slow build

This ad breaks all the rules:

1. It starts completely silent.
2. It takes 16 seconds for the first word.
3. The scene doesn't change for 23 seconds.
4. The sound cuts off again halfway through.
5. You finally know what the ad is for 83 seconds into the ad.
6. Then it hangs there for another 17 seconds before it ends.

But it's perfectly on brand for Guinness's slogan:

Good things come to those who wait.

This ad took a lot of guts to make and release, but it is often considered one of the best of all time.

Honorable mention

Cadbury's famous Gorilla ad used the exact same format:

I don't like it as much because it's a bit too random. At least with Guinness, the core idea of the ad matched the brand.

Comically cringe and terrible ads

These two ads are legendary.

First, Chuck Testa's taxidermy in bizarre, uncomfortable scenarios:

And then The Red House's extremely uncomfortable and confusing ad for its "Black and White People Furniture:"

What on earth is going on?

I'll let the video/visuals do the talking for these first:

They're so bizarre. They're impossible not to watch and share.

You would not believe the motherload I just dropped—and that's how I like it

This ad has one of the greatest hooks of all time (written above):

The writing is impeccable.

The overly posh English accent and dress combined with the vulgarity of her descriptive prose truly make it delightful.

Boring is the default—fight it

You can pretty much guarantee that the first idea you have is likely the same idea that nearly everyone else would have.

The best ideas are:

• Those goofy random thoughts (like Ogilvy's eyepatch)
• Wrung out of your head with a lot of creative brainstorming—ideally with other goofy and creative people.
• Ones that scare you to do. You should be worried about creating and releasing it, either because you think it'll bomb or you're worried about people's reactions.

As Rory Sutherland likes to say:

‍You'll never be fired for being logical.

But doing the logical thing means you'll be doing the same old boring stuff that everyone else is doing.

So, take risks.

Because not taking risks is actually far riskier in the long run.