Why That Worked – Presented by StoryBrand.ai

Episode #36: Annoying Ads—The Dumbest Campaigns That Won Your Attention and Made Millions (RE-RELEASE)
Hosted by Donald Miller and Kyle Reed
Date: September 8, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Donald Miller and Kyle Reed dive into the counterintuitive world of “annoying” marketing campaigns that broke all the rules—by being simple, repetitive, sometimes even obnoxious—and yet made millions. They dissect what made campaigns like "Head On," Chia Pets, and the George Foreman Grill so successful, outline the underlying principles behind these wins, and help listeners understand how to apply these lessons to their own business messaging.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Annoying, Repetitive Campaigns: Why Do They Work?

• Memorability through Simplicity and Repetition

  • Repetition stamps a message into the audience's subconscious.
  • Simple, direct messaging makes it impossible to ignore.

• Quote:
  “Head On. Apply directly to the forehead.”—Head On commercial, repeated by Donald and Kyle at [01:41-01:46]

2. Case Study: Head On

Campaign Breakdown:

• Ultra-simple execution: Visual of a woman rubbing a product on her forehead; repetitive, chant-like tagline.
• No over-explanation: Lets viewers infer it’s for headaches—no unnecessary details.
• Dirt-cheap production, aired everywhere.

Impact:

• Sales increased by 234% after campaign launch in 2005 ([02:50]).
• Annual revenue jumped from $1.9M to about $6.3M ([03:04]).

Key Principles:

• Don’t Over-Explain:
  “If I hand you...a stick of head on, right? If I say apply directly to the forehead, you're inferring that...It's a headache medicine. The lady on the ad looks like she has a headache. So now you don’t have to say it.”—Kyle Reed [04:16]
• Annoyance Can Be a Feature:
  “It was ridiculously memorable. And the reason was it was so fricking annoying and startling.”—Kyle Reed [03:29]

Lesson:
Keep messaging short, high-pitched, repetitive, and panic-inducing if needed—so it cannot be ignored ([07:19]).

Why It Eventually Faded:

• New ownership changed messaging strategy, tried to become more nuanced.
• Regulatory/efficacy issues, and removed early bold claims ([09:00]-[10:33]).

3. Case Study: Chia Pet

Campaign Highlights:

• Iconic jingle (“Ch-ch-ch-Chia!”).
• Extremely economical and succinct messaging: “The pottery that grows” ([13:34]).
• Provided a visual plan: soak it, spread seeds, water, watch it grow ([14:50]).
• Addressed subconscious objections about how it works in the ad.

Impact:

• Peaked at $300M in annual revenue ([15:51]).
• Successfully introduced licensed characters (e.g., SpongeBob), not just generic animals.

Key Principles:

• Economy of Words:
  “Think about how economical that messaging is...The pottery that grows is actually a way of describing something.”—Kyle Reed [13:34]
• Prompting Memorization:
  “They are literally branding and causing you to memorize a tagline or a name of a product.”—Kyle Reed [14:19]
• Address Subconscious Objections:
  "In the ad, they overcome a subconscious objection...and now you go, 'Oh, I can do that.'"—Kyle Reed [15:02]

Lesson:
Make your message so succinct and aligned with a core benefit that people instantly “get it” — and can almost sing it ([17:30]).

4. Case Study: George Foreman Grill

Campaign Highlights:

• Relied on a simple, benefit-driven message: “Knocks out the fat” ([20:49]).
• Leveraged celebrity authority (George Foreman as the face).
• Demonstrated benefits visually (fat draining off food).
• Changed the narrative from kitchen gadget to health solution ([24:36]).

Impact:

• 120 million grills sold, global phenomenon ([22:59]).
• Revenue jumped from $5M in 1996 to $400M/year within six years ([23:13]).
• George Foreman earned over $200 million, more from the grill than boxing ([24:53]).

Key Principles:

• Find the Controlling Idea:
  "The controlling idea from the very beginning—it knocks out the fat. That was the one."—Kyle Reed [20:49]
• Emphasize 'Same But Different':
  “It’s the same, but different...we are like a waffle, but it drains the fat. That to me was different.”—Donald Miller [27:17]
• Make the Problem the Villain:
  “What is it that your product gets rid of that’s harmful to your customer? ... You then make that the villain.”—Donald Miller [27:41-27:55]

Lesson:
Isolate the real problem your customer wants solved, and focus all your messaging on that one ‘controlling’ idea ([25:53]).

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Over-Enlightening:
  "I call it over enlightening. When you're over enlightening the customer, you're actually moving them away from sales."—Kyle Reed [04:30]

• On Simplicity:
  "It's not about explaining why you'll love it...that should be pretty darn obvious."—Kyle Reed [19:23]

• On Annoyance as a Tool:
  "Sometimes it needs to be a little annoying to get the attention of people."—Donald Miller [29:11]

• On Strategic Taglines:
  "Knock out the fat is worth all that money."—Kyle Reed [24:51]

Actionable Insights for Marketers

• Don’t Over-Explain: Cut all messaging that simply restates what customers already know.
• Repetition is Not the Enemy: Annoying may be memorable—especially in audio/visual media.
• Highlight Differentiators: “Same, but different” sells if the difference is of value to the target market.
• Give Customers a Plan: Briefly show exactly how the product is used.
• Make the Customer’s Problem the Villain: Position your product as the solution to a real pain point.
• Make It Stick: Craft your message so it could be chanted, sung, or instantly recalled years later.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:41-01:46]: The “Head On” ad demo and discussion.
• [02:50]: Data on Head On’s sales growth.
• [04:30]: Dangers of “over-enlightening” the customer.
• [13:34]: The succinct messaging behind Chia Pets.
• [15:51]: Chia Pet’s financial impact.
• [17:30]: Principles of making marketing memorable.
• [20:49]: George Foreman Grill's controlling idea.
• [23:13]: Foreman Grill's explosive sales growth.
• [24:36]: How the grill’s design difference found the right messaging angle.
• [27:41-27:55]: Making the customer’s problem the villain.

Final Takeaways

• If your marketing isn’t memorable or easily repeatable, it’s probably too complex.
• Don’t be afraid to be a little annoying—sometimes that’s how messages cut through the noise.
• The brands with the greatest success don’t explain more—they explain less, but more clearly.
• Next time you write an ad or tagline, ask: could a five-year-old repeat this? If not, keep refining.

Hosts invite listeners to share their own memorable, effective, or annoying ad examples and underscore the episode’s message: clear, simple, repeatable marketing is the secret to why these “dumbest campaigns” actually worked.