Loop’s Facebook Ad and the Vividness Bias

In this issue you’ll see:

• The Loop ad that stopped my scroll (and now lives rent-free in my brain)

• Why this ad is engineered for memorability

• How to swipe Loop’s memorability secrets for yourself

Let’s dig in.

THE BREAKDOWN

Can you hear the noodles? (I can.)

Check out this Facebook ad from Loop:

Here’s what works:

1) Leading with “you.”

The “lead with you” technique is a little less obvious because “you” doesn’t actually appear anywhere in this copy. Still, the copy puts the reader first (which is important for leveraging the self-reference effect)—here’s how you can tell:

You can add “You can” to the beginning of every single line of copy visible in the ad and the copy still makes sense. Like so:

2) Leveraging social proof. 

The sheer number of happy product users is a smart way to counter objections from readers who doubt this product will work for them.

3) Using complementary messaging and creative. 

Copy and creative need to work hand-in-hand, with copy often leading design. (This means your copywriter needs to think about the imagery and/or media that’ll accompany their copy.)

Loop’s creative works so well to tell this micro-story.

The noodles draped messily over the fork…

The partially open mouth…

Even the soon-to-be-slurper’s body language…

It all works together to help me imagine the sound of the slurp that’ll happen any second—and then I see the “slurp” messaging in the creative.

4) Using rhyming and alliteration in the copy. 

Literary devices—like the light alliteration in “Shush the slurp” and the rhyming in “Give ick the flick”—make copy sound good. Bonus: rhyming can also make your messaging more memorable. 

5) Focusing the ad on a tangible benefit. 

Loop could’ve messaged a generic benefit—for example, reduce the noise around you. But instead, they go after an ultra-specific context. If I find noisy eaters triggering, I immediately know how this product will help me. 

THE PSYCHOLOGY

The vividness bias and message memorability.

The way Loop uses its messaging and creative to drop you into a vivid sensory experience is genius. Why? Because it's this vividness—and the vividness bias—that makes their ad memorable.

The way the vividness bias works is relatively simple:

The more vivid the information, the more likely it will be remembered.

Here’s how the vividness bias comes into play in this ad:

For folks triggered by noisy eaters, the negative emotions they experience when eating with others will help make this ad more memorable. (This is aligned with the findings of this study. One point for memorability.)

And the ad isn’t showing a quiet eating experience (i.e. an imagined future event where the reader is already experiencing the benefit of Loop’s earplugs). Instead, the ad evokes the reader’s memories of all the uncomfortable meals they’ve had with noisy eaters. (Based on this meta-analysis, past events are experienced more vividly than future events. So plus one extra point for increasing memorability.)

By tapping into an event the target audience has likely experienced and likely has negative emotions around, Loop delivers a memorable message that makes the benefit of taking action—purchasing Loop earplugs—crystal clear. 

THE ACTIONABLE TIP

Your messaging, now in technicolor.

Here’s the key copy technique you should swipe:

Make your copy memorable by tapping into your audience’s most vivid memories.

For example, if you were writing an email about a product that helps developers de-risk code deployments, you might write a hook that drops your reader into the middle of a stressful rollback experience.

You’d paint the scene vividly:

Where the reader is when the rollback happens…

The time…

The day…

Even the language the team is using to communicate with each other.

All of these details combined will help your reader recall the pain they felt the last time they experienced a similar situation… and make your solution more desirable.