Surreal’s cheeky “famous people” ads

In 2023,  Joe messaged Jack this message: "Mate, check out this cereal brand's copy. It's so good."

We've been massive fans ever since.

One of the biggest elephants in the room at the moment is that influencer marketing is pay to play.

And for challenger brands, that means that bigger brands will always be able to ride that celebrity wagon all the way to the bank.

However, studies show that 61% of consumers now find influencer endorsements less trustworthy than five years ago.

Which is why we love Surreal's ads. They read the room and managed to get all of the visibility of the celeb endorsement while also establishing their brand (and voice) and getting a load of free press.

But it's the self-deprecating tone that's carrying this campaign on its back. Without it, the whole thing falls apart.

Which is double smart, because a 2024 study in Psychology & Marketing found that self-deprecating ads enhance brand trust by elevating social attractiveness and reducing consumer skepticism and  lower people's tendency to avoid the ad in the first place.

In other words, being self-aware and self-deprecating makes people like you more, trust you more, and stop to read what you've written.

Now, the move isn't to do a karaoke version of Surreal's voice for your brand.

But you can steal the thinking. What does every brand in your category do to look impressive that's actually a bit hollow? And what's the smallest, most technically-true version of that claim you could make instead?

If every competitor shouts "award-winning," maybe you say "award-winning* (*we came third in our office bake off, but still)."

If everyone claims "As seen on TV", then maybe you can say "As seen on TV *we were a blur in the background of Eastenders for a fraction of a second, one time."

Quick note: this kinda thing works best when you're the underdog. If you're a bigger brand, this can easily slip into feeling smug.

But if you're a challenger brand still finding your feet? This is a really cheap and efficient way to get noticed and get customers to like you and to play into the zeitgeist. Really clever stuff.