Should your ad catch feelings or flex facts? Science has the answer.

New research used MRI scans to measure brain activity while consumers viewed ads. Unlike surveys, which rely on self-reported data, this method offers a precise look at how people truly respond to advertising.

The results:

• 🙂 Emotional ads are more effective for pleasurable products
  If your product is designed for enjoyment—like fashion, chocolate, or vacations—research indicates emotional ads are your go-to. These ads might feature happy moments, such as friends making memories on a trip.
   

• 📚 Fact-driven ads perform better for functional items
  For practical products—like cleaning supplies, productivity software, or work shoes—opt for clear, informative ads. Highlight key details like effectiveness, features, ingredients, or price.

While this sounds obvious enough, it’s surprising how many marketers forget this basic tenant and develop campaigns that don’t match the right tone.

By matching your ad style to how consumers perceive your product, you’re more likely to capture their interest and drive engagement.

Research by Casado Aranda, L. A., Sánchez-Fernández, J. and Viedma-del-Jesús, M. I. Neural Responses to Hedonic and Utilitarian Banner Ads: An fMRI Study. Journal of Interactive Marketing. Source: Science Says

So, why does it work?

Our minds process emotional and practical messages in different ways:

• 🙂 Emotional Ads: Ads for pleasurable products tap into feelings and sensory enjoyment, activating parts of the brain linked to rewards and memories. This helps consumers connect positive emotions to your brand.

• 📚 Informative Ads: These focus on facts and practical benefits, engaging areas of the brain used for logical thinking and decision-making. This makes people evaluate your product’s practical value and functional benefits.

Brands leading the way

• 🙂 Pleasurable Products: Luxury car brands like Audi and BMW focus on the thrill of driving their cars, while Dove focuses on the emotional benefits of self-care.

• 📚 Functional Products: Toyota’s Corolla ads highlight fuel efficiency, while Purell leans on the practical benefits of hand sanitizer.

Run CTV Ads on Roku This Holiday

• Reach holiday shoppers where they’re streaming on Roku 

• Set up, optimize, and measure campaigns in real-time

• Engage viewers with interactive, shoppable on-screen ad formats

Read the holiday guide

The Top Three 🥉

The industry’s most important stories today.

1
Tell us something we don't know: Meta finally admits its automated content moderation systems are too aggressive, with high error rates unfairly penalizing advertisers and users. more

• It’s ‘overzealous’ moderation can (and has) impact ad campaigns if ads or content are mistakenly flagged. This has caused much grief to the marketing community.

• No major changes to its policies have been made yet, but it sounds like big changes could be coming. Watch this space.

2
New research has found that high-income consumers often begin their shopping journey in physical stores, gathering inspo and exploring products, but they finalize purchases through digital channels. more

• This trend underscores the importance of seamless online-offline integration for brands.

• Marketers can keep the momentum going with personalized online follow-ups and targeted digital campaigns.

3
Gen Z prefers shopping in physical stores despite discovering products on social media. more

• They're twice as likely as the general population to find products online

• But when it comes to buying, they opt for brick-and-mortar locations

Today’s Other News ☑︎

Everything else that matters.

Advertising 📣

• 70% of senior marketers back Google's decision to keep third-party cookies on Chrome, but 2 out of 5 UK consumers plan to opt out when a single opt-in is introduced next year. more

• More retailers are adopting shoppable TV ads as consumers warm to the format. more

• Want to cut emissions from your campaign? Try billboards. Research shows that out-of-home (OOH) ads are nearly 200% more efficient in cutting emissions than programmatic display ads. more

• Domino's is partnering with Netflix again for its Emergency Pizza promo, targeting players in the “Squid Game” contest ahead of season two. The campaign includes co-branded ads on Netflix and linear TV. more

Google Updates 🔍

• Good news if you felt Google’s AI was ripping your content off… Gemini's AI summaries may soon be upfront about sources. An update discovered in its beta code suggests the app will include an easy-to-access list of sources for its overviews, similar to how Search shows source information. more

• Google Analytics now supports Customer Match from Google Ads. This means when you export your audience data to Google Ads, it will also now include your first-party consented, hashed customer data, and your tag-based user identifiers. more

• Always tinkering… Google is now testing underlining the title, link and domain in search results when you hover your cursor over the snippet. more

Social Media 📱

• Australia has banned teens from social media, but YouTube was granted an exemption from the bill because it convinced lawmakers it was an “health and education-related” site and not, you know, the world’s largest entertainment site. more

• YouTube is updating its Inspiration tab with AI-generated video ideas tailored to your channel, offering content ideas for thumbnails, titles, summaries, and audience insights. more

• Long awaited… Threads is rolling out a search update — now you can filter searches by specific profiles and date ranges. It adds a settings icon to the search bar with options for “After date,” “Before date,” and “From profile.” more

• X is requiring parody and fan accounts to label themselves with a tag, to differentiate them from the real deal. If they don’t add add these new labels, they’ll be suspended. more

• LinkedIn’s tips for better posts:

  • start with a strong hook

  • write in short paragraphs

  • use relevant hashtags

  • tag people and companies

  • end with a call to action

  • Engaging with others' posts can also boost awareness, and posting twice a week increases profile views. more

Commerce 🛒 

• Yowza. Adobe reports Cyber Monday spend hit a record $13.3 billion. That’s up more than 7% from last year, driven by deep discounts and—once again—mobile shopping. more

• An interesting breakdown on how Amazon manages to make same-day deliveries. more

• Behold! Joya Studio, the fragrance brand, has revived ‘Smell-O-Vision!’ It’s infusing some theatres with the scent of blueberry pie during key moments of a film. And their tech can be bought for your next marketing campaigns. more

Analytics 📈

• Improving media mix modeling (MMM) is the top priority for marketers upgrading measurement. A recent study found more than 60% of U.S. marketers want faster, better MMM. more

• A new site, TheySeeYourPhotos.com, shows users how much Google AI can learn from their photos. People can upload any photo to the site, which is then sent to a cloud-based program, which generates a startlingly detailed description of it. When I tried uploaded an image of me and my wife, it pointed out my greying hair. Honestly, fuck AI. more

  

Marketing Tool of the Day 🔨

Best kept secrets of the digital marketing world¹

Minvo turns your long-form videos into clips, and lets you post them across popular social platforms.

• No monthly subscription — pay once, get lifetime access

• Identify key moments in videos and auto-create social media clips, subtitles, b-roll, emojis, auto-framing, and more

• Designed for agencies: Create unique brand profiles, customize intros, outros, fonts, and logos using custom templates for each brand

• Schedule and post your new clips directly to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and more.

• Transform long-form videos into written content like like articles, LinkedIn posts, and SEO-friendly blogs

Today’s Trivia Question 🧠

Tap your guess and you could win!

Spotted on Social 🔍

The social web’s best posts in the last 24 hours.

Are Your Social Media Comments Overwhelming Your Team?

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