Classic Patagonia print ad

It’ll come as no shock that we bloody love Patagonia here at DWG. They basically wrote the playbook on being a mission-led brand. (And they’ve been on our dream client list for years now.) They ran this full page ad in the NYT on Black Friday in 2011. While every other brand was promoting a big sale or discounts, Patagonia told us not to buy something. Love it. 

This ad works because it opens a loop in our brains. We read "don't buy this jacket" and our brains immediately go "huh?!" (Especially on Black Friday.)

But that is one of the oldest attention-grabbing tricks in the book. (It's basically Bart Simpson's SEX! Now I have your attention poster.)

So why is Patagonia's so good where so many bits of clickbait have failed? Because they deliver on the promise. They're not after attention at all costs. They're making a point and giving their customers real information about their repair and recycling programmes. The initial curiosity grabbed attention, but the actual content meant that they didn't feel cheated. 

The thing that makes this ad brilliant rather than just attention-grabbing is that they can back it up. The curiosity gets you to read to ad. But attention is cheap. The real trick is using the repair and recycling programmes give you a reason to trust them. Without that second half, this is just a provocative headline with nothing behind it. It's hollow attention versus useful attention. That's the difference.

So ask yourself: what does your brand genuinely do differently? Can you make a headline of that? And does everything that follows actually back it up? If so, would a customer know this about you from what you're putting out right now? if not, it might be a good time to take a leaf from Patagonia's book and start being a louder, clearer version of your brand.