C (1:35)

Like, I love the texture. I love the visual. My question is. So you're speaking to a very certain kind of man, and you're kind of insulting a whole bunch of others.

B (1:47)

Oh, I think that's on purpose.

C (1:48)

Yeah. So, I mean, so you're. You're attracting an Alpha who does think he's better than everyone. So if that's what you're going for.

B (1:54)

A great read Alpha in this. Oh, that's fascinating.

C (1:58)

I read Alpha because it's. It's. Oh, my God, the font is so small, girl. Like, can we zoom in? I can't see. There we go. Okay. Yeah, I mean, I. I guess show up for work every day. Okay, that. That's True. It's not saying show up for work every day in finance with a white.

B (2:16)

Okay. But I. I actually really love your initial reaction because that's.

A (2:19)

That's interesting because that's not what I'm going for.

B (2:22)

Yeah. Nate and I are so close to this brand that we know who we thought it was for. Your reaction, though, was like, oh, you're going for, like, type A men, like, peak, pinnacle man. I'm like, I mean, is that what you read?

C (2:32)

Oh, it's very masculine, obviously. It's like, built.

A (2:35)

Yes. Masculine. I wrote it for, like, blue collar, humble sacrifice for their family kind of guy.

C (2:41)

So. I see that also.

B (2:43)

Interesting.

C (2:43)

I. I do see that also. I think it depends on who's looking at it. I think it could appeal to people who think they're better than everyone, and I think it could appeal to people who work with their hands and are like, fuck, yeah, I'm a real man, Nate.

B (2:54)

You might be drawn in the person you don't want to draw.

C (2:58)

Also, every day has a space. So, I mean, you did the right thing with having the, like, sort of typo so that it's not AI. Although honestly, AI has typos.

B (3:08)

So, like, all right, love or hate it. What do you think?

A (3:11)

Give it a score out of 10.

C (3:14)

God, eight.

B (3:16)

Oh, okay. Yeah. All right. On to the next one.

C (3:19)

It's. It's just the texture. The visual is so good, man.

B (3:23)

It is. You're.

C (3:23)

It's. You see the quality in the image and it's just. Yeah, peak.

B (3:29)

That's really interesting. While you're finding another one. I find it interesting when you start to look at how people respond to different ads in different ways. Because Nate and I are so deep into this brand and we've been working on it together for like four years that we're constantly trying to communicate to the man who's not peak, pinnacle, a type. We're trying to communicate to somebody who's like, very self sacrificing type of dude.

C (3:49)

But I.

B (3:50)

But that's not what you read, which I was like, oh, But I think.

C (3:53)

Anybody who works hard and long hours, like, I picture the finance guy feeling like he's sacrificing because, like, has he seen his kids?

A (4:01)

No, definitely not. He hasn't.

C (4:03)

I think everybody wants to see themselves as that man. Yeah. So I think it doesn't necessarily matter.

B (4:09)

Oh, true.

C (4:09)

The audience. Because every man wants to feel like their testosterone has been put to good use.

A (4:14)

That. That is what we've talked about here. Like, with me, like, I work in E Com. Like, I'm not a tough, manly man, but I'm like, well, like, I'm trying to do some, like, cool, like, real mansions while I ride bulls and building a fence for goats soon. But, like, yeah, every guy, even if they're super soft and work at a computer all day, like, I do. Like, we want to feel like that guy.

C (4:37)

Yeah, No, I think it's. I think it's. Yeah. And everyone feels like they're better than their co worker. They work harder than their co worker.

A (4:43)

Yeah, obviously.

B (4:45)

All right, next.

A (4:47)

Next ad. Way less copy on this. Also, a photo that's, like, not lit well. It's, like, shot, like, through, like, the shadow of some blinds and just says the name of the, the watch on it. The Charred Whiskey Rugged Automatic has a little inset picture showing the premium packaging as well.

B (5:07)

Yeah.

C (5:08)

So readability is the first thing I'm concerned about with this. I can't read Rugged Automatic because you're doing a high contrast background. Auto is just. I lost it. So I had to take a second and. Care to look at that? The other thing is I can't read anything in that picture. In picture, like.

B (5:27)

Yeah, well, and this is. If you hold up the phone, this is about the size.

C (5:29)

Yeah, I know.

B (5:30)

Interesting.

C (5:31)

And I just can't. I can't read it.

A (5:33)

But I do think we have a small font problem.

C (5:36)

I like the vibe. I mean, readability. This is like art. You know what I mean? And it's. We don't make art, we make ads. So readability is always king.

B (5:44)

Yeah. What do you think about the image and the, like, light bands?

C (5:49)

I like it. I, I, I, I mean, it would look. AI. I wish that we had the light bands in the background and then the watch didn't have that. Oh, I think if you had a little bit more light focus on the watch, that it could, like, glisten. Not glisten. Like, you know what I mean? Like, the metal would have a bit of a reflection. I think it would, Would stand out more.

A (6:10)

Yeah. This is rare for us. Like, usually everything we do is very polished and lit.

C (6:14)

Well, did this do well? Am I just, like, wrong?

A (6:17)

This is ripping. Yeah. Hate to be the one to tell you that, but this is ripping right now.

C (6:21)

Oh, man. Listen, I have this. I mean, I call it. Call things wrong all the time.

A (6:26)

Yeah. Well, no, and, like, same for me. Like, I didn't like this. I didn't want to. To run it, but if there's one thing I've learned, it's just.

C (6:32)

Yep.

B (6:33)

Just run it. Yeah. I mean, good call. Out for Scotty. Like, the psychology behind this is really interesting because on the feed, typically you see a lot of color, a lot of bright things, a lot of white things, a lot of, like, very intense, chunky colors. This is like something got burnt. Like, I'm tasting whiskey. Yeah.

C (6:49)

I'll say that.

B (6:50)

It looks very dark moody, which is difficult. Like, on Meta, you don't see dark and moody very often.

C (6:55)

So it does make you want to take a second look to see, like, what am I missing?

B (6:58)

What is it?

C (6:58)

What is this?

A (6:59)

That is my theory as to why it is working. Like, it makes people look at it.

C (7:04)

Yeah, you gotta. You gotta want to take a second look. And I think that the copy and the confusion does do that. Yeah. I think put whiskey in any. Most men will stop.

A (7:17)

We have seen, like, the giant word. Whiskey is a good scroll.

B (7:21)

Yeah.

C (7:22)

Like the manliest alcohol.

A (7:24)

Yeah.

C (7:24)

And the color. Yeah.

B (7:25)

No, this one I saw earlier today and I loved it, but. Yeah. Your. Your thoughts first. Ooh, Life's better old fashioned.

A (7:34)

This is one of our watches sitting on a whiskey stave with a nice little red kind of glow behind it. And then it says, life's better old fashioned. And below, it's got a little cutaway to an old fashioned drink. Little tongue in cheek.

B (7:48)

You know, doing really well, though, because there for a while, I couldn't tell what the. I couldn't tell what your snippets were like. There was a time where he was using, like, fire in behind it or like metal in behind it, and it would zoom in so close. I was like, what is that? Like, what's the thing?

A (8:03)

This, like, the drink is more readable.

B (8:05)

I can tell it's an old Fashioned very quickly, which is good.

C (8:08)

I mean, the product looks amazing.

B (8:09)

I know.

C (8:10)

I mean, the hierarchy is really interesting. Yeah. I. I just don't even want to guess anymore, but I really like this.

A (8:18)

Thanks.

B (8:20)

Up, like, it's staring up to the sky.

C (8:22)

It's kind of like.

B (8:23)

That's awesome. Like, I've seen it in a few of your ads, and that seems to crush pretty consistently. Something.

A (8:28)

Yeah, we call that the, like, superhero.

C (8:30)

Yeah.

A (8:31)

For the watches, like, they're standing with hand on their hips, like, looking up.

C (8:34)

And it also mimics like a split screen almost.

B (8:37)

Oh, yeah. I didn't even notice that because, like.

C (8:40)

The product is like, completely on its own. Like, let. Let it have a spotlight.

B (8:44)

Yeah.

C (8:45)

When you look down, it gets busier, but gives you context and it's done well.

A (8:49)

It's launched today, so no clue but we're talking about life's better the old fashioned way. This watch was made for the quiet moments where time slows down. There's no notifications to distract you. Just aged whiskey barrel wood inlaid over each gear. Counting the moments that really matter. Because the best times are the ones you don't want to check your watch for.

B (9:07)

This is made with my system. This is available. Valence copy, people. Valence copy.

A (9:15)

All right, last one. This one. One of our top whiskey barrel watches. When this open, it's shot. It's actually hard to tell, but it is shot. Like on a pool of whiskey. That didn't really come out in the photo. Um, but it says when the dress code is whiskey neat. Choose a watch built for straight shooters, made from reclaimed whiskey barrel wood.

B (9:40)

I like that you guys can be clever without it coming across as confusing because a lot of people try to do clever stuff and it comes out like, what are you. What in the hell are you talking about? You've got. You have so many euphemisms in psychic vibe.

C (9:53)

Really?

B (9:53)

Well, yeah, yeah.

C (9:54)

Like, like, like I've just been getting speakeasy from all of these.

B (9:59)

Yeah.

C (9:59)

I feel like I'm in it. I can smell it.

B (10:02)

Okay.

C (10:03)

I mean, I think it's doing great because this is whiskey. Really big.

B (10:07)

That's the key.

A (10:08)

Yeah, it should be, if not yet. I think this is, like, one of my favorite ads we've ever made, and it's not doing much yet, so we'll see.

B (10:17)

Yeah. Readability.

A (10:18)

I know. Do we just need to double our font size on everything? At least on all the, like, small stuff?

B (10:23)

Yeah, I would. If it's going to change the, like, design and the feel of it just slightly. But you'd rather go for readability over pretty, you know, I know.

A (10:33)

I think we'd like all these to look like, like vintage, like, magazine ads, but then it gets hard to read.

C (10:39)

I think you've. The way you've gotten around it is that you have really, really good, big headlines that pull you in and then you. You want to read the fine print. So I think that if you don't have a big headline that's really thumbstoppy, then this would not work. But you've managed to have that balance of thumb stoppy. And then sit and think if this.

B (11:03)

One performs well, the next test I would do is increase the size of the tiny font and see what an AB looks like next to each other, but only if it crushes for like, a while.

A (11:11)

Yeah, makes sense. We do have other variations of this in different headline and text formats and stuff that I think are more readable. So, yeah, and we'll see. Okay, I gotta go.

B (11:21)

Joining us, everybody, follow Nate Legos at Nate Legos on Twitter.

C (11:26)

Follow Joanna Jo Wall202.

B (11:28)

Thank you. I was like, I know it's Joe Wall, but you had numbers and I couldn't remember what the numbers.

C (11:31)

It's my old area code.

B (11:33)

No, wall 202. Follow me at Sarah Lavender. That was the quickest episode we've ever done. Boom.

A (11:38)

Brain Driven Brands is part of the.

B (11:40)

Learn and Laugh series on the Quickfire.

A (11:43)

Podcast network and is presented by Tether Insights.

B (11:47)

For more information, go to tetherinsights IO.