Spotify’s sneakily clever OOH campaign

We initially saved this because we love The Clash and thought it was a clever little play on words. (And really smart art direction to mimic the album colours.)

Then, as we were writing this up, we realised there's actually a lot more going on in this ad that we realised.

Obviously, this is a fantastically good bit of copywriting.

But "Conference calling" isn't just a banger of a punchline.

It's a really clever way of tapping into a psychological concept called identity gap, which is this almost itchy discomfort about the gap between who you used to be and who you've become as you've grown up.

(You know how listening to music you used to love can sometimes make you feel weird? Or going back to where you grew up? That's that weird identity gap feeling.)

The ad is speaking directly to someone who was an angsty teen, blasting music full volume, filled with righteous rage against the establishment, who is now part of it. The person who wore ripped jeans and quoted Marx who now has a 9am stand-up and an investment savings account.

But it's really talking to anyone who can recognise that identity gap in themselves.

It could equally have said 1986: Papa Don't Preach. 2026: Papa Johns on speed dial or 2006: Party everyday. Pa-pa-pa-party every day. 2026: Parcels everyday. Pa-pa-pa-parcels everyday.

The point is that immediate recognition of "oh, I miss that version of me". That's what Spotify are going for.

(It's almost problem-agitate-solution in its structure, actually.)

They're agitating that pain point and then they're offering to close it.

"Listen like you used to" is Spotify's way of saying "you can tap back into that version of yourself with Spotify".

It's really clever.

Research consistently shows that nostalgia in marketing is really effective. Studies show nostalgic ads generate emotional responses at twice the rate of standard marketing material.

So here's the thing to nick: what's the gap your product closes? Who did your customer used to be before life got complicated? What did they used to feel before they got busy, or tired, or sensible? Is there a version of your copy that names that and then positions your product as the way back?

It doesn't even need to be as big and impactful as Spotify's ad. You can even just nod to it.

(In fact, we'd go so far as to say that Surreal's entire brand voice is built on this idea of enjoying the cereal you ate as a kid and being a bit silly again.)