How to create an ad, which sells? 5 practical tips, that work
Updated 30.3.2025
How to create effective advertising?
How to shoot a commercial that will sell?
This is the question every marketer or advertiser asks at the beginning. No one wants to invest money in something that won’t provide a return on investment.
Don’t make the same mistakes as others!
We believe this article will be helpful to you. Enjoy the reading!
(The most common mistakes entrepreneurs make when placing ads are outlined in the article "7 Most Common Mistakes when Creating a Comercial ")
You can also find valuable tips for effective advertising in this video:
>>> How to Shoot a Successful YouTube Video That Will Break Viewership Records? Read the Article HERE! <<<
1) Social Currency
Everyone wants to be popular, appear smart, and influence others.
That’s why people choose the information they’ll talk about with others.
Unique things provide social currency.
People who talk about them seem more interesting in the eyes of others, and they advertise products for free.
If you want to get people talking, your business or organization must offer social currency.
For example:
Guess how many people I voluntarily told about the pink bikes you can attach to a lock and ride around different cities in the Czech Republic?
It was over twenty of them!
Every time I told them, I enjoyed their expression of surprise.
Today, Rekola is much more well-known, so it probably wouldn’t amaze so many people, but the important point is this: Rekola possesses social currency.
It’s easy and fun to talk about it over a beer or wine.
It’s fresh, quirky, a little crazy, and thus spreads easily by word of mouth.
Rekola contains social currency. It’s crazy and cool enough that people spread the word about it for free and gladly.
One way to achieve this is by uncovering what makes your product or service unique.
The key to finding uniqueness lies in identifying the feature of your product that makes it interesting, surprising, and fresh.
In New York, there’s a bar with a secret entrance behind a phone booth in another bar, and you can only enter by calling in advance.
Crazy, right?
How long do you think it took for people to learn about it? Not long…
>>> Online marketing course and other tips for sales in our Business Show Club HERE <<<
How to sell more? Do upselling and cross-selling! What is it?
You'll find out in the video HERE:
2) Trigger
Some things trigger emotions, habits, or cravings for other things.
Products, that we are reminded of by a trigger, not only spread more information but also have long-lasting effects.
For example, in mid-1997, Mars saw an unexpected increase in sales of its chocolate bar.
This was a surprising discovery because the company hadn’t changed its marketing or spent more on ads.
What caused it then?
The answer came from an unexpected source: NASA and its Mars mission with the Pathfinder probe.
It was a highly publicized project that cost hundreds of millions of dollars and became the main topic of news.
The media focus on the planet Mars served as a trigger that reminded people of the Mars candy bar, thus increasing its sales!
Another example of a trigger is music in supermarkets when choosing wine.
A study was conducted to see whether the music playing in the background in the wine section influenced the selection of wines.
Yes, it does!
When French music was playing, people were more likely to choose French wine, and when Italian music played, people chose Italian wines, etc.
Music acted as a trigger and simply influenced the choice of goods in the supermarket.
A trigger was also used in an American campaign to promote fruit and vegetable consumption among teenagers.
A test was done with two slogans. The first was: “Live healthily and eat five pieces of fruit and vegetables a day.” The second was: “Every lunch tray should carry five pieces of fruit and vegetables, gladly.”
Which slogan do you think was more effective? The one with the lunch tray, as the trigger.
Every time students picked up a tray in the cafeteria, it triggered the memory of the slogan, and they added a few pieces of vegetables to their meal.
In fact, vegetable consumption increased by 25%!
The general slogan was ineffective because it didn’t contain a trigger and didn’t relate to a specific situation.
>>> How to Shoot a Viral Video? 5 Proven Tips! <<<
3) Emotions
Remember how you felt when you were standing in front of a large audience, at the start of a race, or during your graduation exam.
Or when you were lying in a tent and suddenly heard strange sounds in the dark.
Your heart rate quickened, your pulse raced, your pupils dilated, and your adrenaline surged.
This is all physiological excitement, a state of arousal, preparing your body for action.
Amazement, excitement, laughter, anger, irritation, disgust.
These are just a few examples of emotions that successful commercials or viral videos on the internet evoke.
Some emotions generate more motivation to action than others.
Excitement or anger prompts more action than anxiety or contentment. Excitement may be part of why people love sharing funny content.
People need a stronger stimulus to share than just information and facts; it is emotions that drive them.
People know that smoking is unhealthy, but this fact doesn’t stop them from lighting another cigarette.
Instead of focusing on facts, like describing product features, focus on feelings and hidden emotions that prompt action.
Some products evoke emotions more easily than others, but that doesn’t mean emotions can’t be triggered even by seemingly dull products.
This is shown by the ad campaign for the Google search engine. At first glance, a search engine is a very unattractive produc that is full of statistics, indexing websites, and complex calculations.
But behind the search, you can tell a story about finding a job, a new partner, or a vacation, and hide human emotions behind it.
The “Life is Search” campaign was very emotional and human, and it became one of the most well-known campaigns of the year.
If a search engine can evoke emotions, why can’t your company? Contact us.
4) Public recognition
It’s more likely that we’ll go to the political elections if our surroundings are voting.
We won’t smoke if our friends aren’t smoking.
We’ll gain weight if the people around eat unhealthy food.
To find a way out of our hesitation, we often rely on the decisions of those around us.
We assume that if others are doing it, it must be good for us too. Psychologists call this phenomenon social proof.
-That’s why beggars leave a few coins in their cup, so it looks like others are giving money, and we should add some too.
- That’s why at the beginning of a supermarket’s opening hours, a few items are taken from the shelf to create the impression that there’s demand for the product (but still there must be enough stock of goods so it doesn’t look empty).
- That’s why the recommendation system on Amazon, Alza, and other e-shops is so successful. It offers what others have bought and might be useful to us.
- That’s why restaurants with glass windows, where you can see people inside, have a much higher chance of attracting us than those where the interior is not visible.
All of these tricks use the principle of public familiarity.
The visibility of products has a huge impact on their sales.
What is publicly visible promotes the spread of information. Have you noticed how every Mac has the glowing Apple logo on the back of its screen?
A good example is the anti-drug campaign that, instead of reducing drug use among young people, had the opposite effect.
Amazon uses a recommendation system, cleverly utilizing the principle of public familiarity.
>>> Want to create effective advertising? Contact our marketing agency Best Marketing! <<<
5) Story
People don’t think in terms of facts, they think in terms of stories.
And while focusing on the story itself, they take in information along with it.
Everyone knows the stories about the mythical Trojan horse or the apple of knowledge.
We can agree that it’s not just about stories with a wooden horse or an apple tree.
They contain lessons, universally applicable behavior patterns.
Stories are inherently more engaging than facts. This fascination with stories can be seen in online reviews. Instead of just writing about how a camera works and listing technical facts, people prefer to wrap the information in a story.
“I bought the camera to take pictures of my family when we go on vacation. My phone wasn’t good enough for that. I appreciate its quick zoom and high-quality camera body, which even survived a few falls when we were biking.”
The man could have skipped explaining why he bought the camera and just written that the zoom and body are high-quality.
He didn’t do that and subconsciously wrapped his review in a story, making it more believable and relatable.
Wrap your product in a story, breathe life into it, and let people fall in love with it more easily.
>>> Do you want to create an effective commecial? Contact us! <<<
Small Summary in Conclusion:
Social Currency
It puts people in a better light when they mention a product or service. Therefore, find the hidden uniqueness of your product or service. Are you creating a feeling in people that they are part of something extraordinary?
Triggers
They take into account the surrounding environment. What things act as triggers when your product is mentioned? How can you nurture the natural environment of your product or service to keep it in people's minds?
Emotions
They work like fuel to the fire. If your business evokes emotions, you're halfway to success.
Public recognition
How much does your product advertise itself? Is it visible to others when people use it? Notice the logos on T-shirts, the glowing Apple logo, or the glass-fronted restaurants filled with people. What can you do for public recognition in your business?
Story
Is your product embedded in a story that people enjoy telling? Is the story not only viral but, most importantly, valuable at the same time?
Do you need to create commercial that brings you profit?
Don't hesitate to contact us, and we will advise you on the most suitable form of communication for your product.
We’ve already filmed dozens of commercials that helped our clients increase sales and expand brand awareness.
CONTACT US at produkce@markusfilm.com or call: +420 736 427 252
We look forward to working with you!
Author of the article:
Mgr. Marek Dvořák
Owner of Markusfilm
Translator of the article
PatríciaTruchlíková, DiS. art.
