Brain Driven Brands with Sarah Levinger

Episode: Two Truths and A Lie: Why the Weirdest Ads Work (and Yours Don't)
Air Date: October 28, 2025
Host: Sarah Levinger
Special Guest: Nate Legos

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the world of strange, conceptual, and even baffling advertising, exploring why the weirdest ads from massive brands (and across decades) often work far better than what most e-commerce brands produce today. Through a game of "Two Truths and a Lie" with a focus on offbeat 1980s campaigns, Sarah and Nate unpack the neuromarketing and psychological tactics underlying these legendary (and legendarily odd) ad strategies—revealing actionable ideas for today’s brands.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Weird Ads Work: The Psychology of Curiosity

• Open Loops & Semantic Closure

  • Humans are wired to resolve incomplete information—ads that create a sense of mystery or ambiguity (an "open loop") force our brains to fill in gaps, making the brand stickier and more memorable.
  • Sarah Levinger: "Semantic closure has to do with the fact that, like, humans really need to close open loops." [07:40]
  • Example: Silk Cut's minimalist campaign (just a purple silk with a cut, no brand, no product) forced viewers to seek answers, turning confusion into brand obsession.

• Contrast with Modern Ads

  • Many modern digital ads lack the courage or creative risk-taking seen in the past, but today's tools (like AI) make conceptual experimentation easier than ever.
  • Sarah: "If you're creating AI ads, you can create these strange, bizarre concepts that have nothing to do with your brand... both worked incredibly well for brands because they drive a little, like, mystery. It's metaphorical." [08:59]

2. 1980s Ad Showdown—"Two Truths and a Lie" Game

Sarah orchestrates three hilarious and surprising quiz rounds, using 1980s ad history to illustrate key tactics.

Round 1: Overly Conceptual Ads ([04:31]–[09:00])

• Ads Discussed:
  • Fake: Sony’s "Sound of Silence" (a man discovers the emptiness of life before Walkman – not real!)
  • Real: Parco’s egg ad—Japanese department store spot of a woman eating a hard-boiled egg in silence for 90 seconds.
  • Real: Silk Cut’s mysterious, product-free purple silk ad.
• Insight:
  • Bizarre ads work by being incomplete—forcing audiences to mentally participate.
  • Sarah: "It was memorable enough that people just remember this random lady eating an egg… the only department store that would be bold enough to do this is this specific one." [10:47]
  • Modern application: These tactics create powerful brand recall and conversation.

Round 2: Mascot Madness ([12:11]–[19:10])

• Ads Discussed:
  • Real: Burger King's "Where's Herb?"—$40M campaign around a fictional character who'd never eaten at Burger King.
  • Real: California Raisins’ claymation singing "I Heard it Through the Grapevine."
  • Fake: McDonald’s "Grimace for President" (did NOT happen!)
• Insight:
  • Introducing a skeptic or outsider (like “Herb”) can galvanize existing fans while drawing in the undecided—if the narrative is properly closed.
  • Nate: "Start your hero's journey with someone who doesn't know your brand or is actively skeptical about your brand, and then show the conversion. I love that." [19:10]
  • Sarah: "You opened a loop... You just never closed it." [17:59]
  • Application: Test UGC and creative where a character doubts the product and is won over.

Round 3: Dark & Dramatic ([19:33]–[25:49])

• Ads Discussed:
  • Fake: Pepsi’s "Drink with the Devil" (never existed; would have triggered outrage).
  • Real: Australia’s "Grim Reaper" AIDS awareness campaign—oop: terrifying and "so dark" ad of death bowling humans.
  • Real: DeLorean’s "Live the Dream"—selling the future just as the company was about to collapse.
• Insight:
  • Fear in Advertising:
    • Fear tactics could work in the '80s, but modern audiences are less accepting.
    • Sarah: "You gotta be so careful... The US right now is not in a place where people would tolerate what they did in the 80s very well. So I don't think... fear-based ads are going to run very well." [24:21]

3. Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Nate (On 1980s conceptual ads):
  "The Sony Walkman one sounds like a great ad to me. Yeah, that sounds like... And I think it's so true for the 80s too, because, like, today we need the opposite of that ad." [05:31]
• Sarah (On the mysterious Parco ad):
  "It was very minimal, odd, moody kind of a thing. But it was memorable enough that people just remember this random lady eating an egg..." [10:47]
• Nate (On fear tactics):
  "Putting someone selling their soul to the devil on TV in America in the 1980s would have had a bunch of people up in arms about it, probably." [22:11]
• Sarah (On closing open loops):
  "You opened a loop... You just never closed it." [17:59]
• Sarah (On the power of narrative in ads):
  "How you say something matters more than what you say." [25:54]

Takeaways & Actionable Tactics

• Harness Mystery: Leave ads slightly incomplete; don’t spell everything out—instead, invite the audience to figure it out and mentally participate (open loops/semantic closure).
• Introduce Skeptics: Introduce a protagonist who doubts, tries, and falls in love with your product—model customer skepticism and conversion in your ads.
• Contrast Valence: You can reframe the same facts positively or negatively; how you frame the story (the “vibe”) matters more than the details.
• Don’t Fear the Weird: The most legendary and effective ads are often the ones that feel too odd or risky in the boardroom.
• Beware of Fear Tactics: What played in the 1980s may not play now; tread very carefully with negative or fear-based campaigning in today’s climate.

Notable Timestamps

• 04:31: Start of Quiz: Overly Conceptual 1980s Ads
• 07:40: Deep dive on "semantic closure" and open loop psychology
• 12:11: Start of Quiz: Mascot Madness
• 17:59: Discussion: Importance of closing open loops in ad storytelling
• 19:33: Start of Quiz: Dark & Dramatic Ads
• 24:21: Sarah on fear-based ads in modern digital advertising
• 25:54: How framing ("valence") shapes audience reaction

Conclusion

This playful yet deeply insightful episode blends advertising lore with actionable psychology, revealing how the weird, the ambiguous, and the emotionally resonant can transform modern digital brands—if you’re bold and clever enough to use them well. Take these lessons from the ad graveyards (and viral hits) of the past and start brainstorming: How can your next campaign leave viewers just a little mystified or a little skeptical…and desperate to know more?