The Growth Newsletter #196

It's ugly, but it works.

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Read on demandcurve.com The Growth Newsletter #196 It's ugly, but it works. Would you notice this ad, take a closer look, and maybe even share it? Of course you would.   Let's dive into why, and some more examples of ugly ads.   – Neal Brought to you by Bigin by Zoho CRM—the simplest CRM platform from Zoho, the business software suite trusted by 100 million+ users.   If you are tired of using spreadsheets, sticky notes, email threads, and Slack reminders, say hello to organized business management.   With Bigin: Store all your customer information in one place and connect via WhatsApp, phone, meetings, and email. Integrate with Google, Mailchimp, Zoom, and 2000+ everyday apps. Automate tasks, set reminders, and quickly act on pending tasks.   Sign up for a free trial and get going in 30 minutes—no credit card required. Want to be featured in front of over 101,000 founders and marketers? Learn more here. It's ugly, but it works. Insight from Barry Hott and Neal's carousel.   The Internet used to be extremely ugly: Flashing banner ads Under construction signs Horrible font and color choices.   To compete, stand out, and build trust, people started making websites look prettier, more trustworthy, and higher production value.   We kept raising the quality bar with each new competitor and campaign.   The problem now?   Everything is incredibly manicured and over-engineered.   YouTube is all $50k camera and lighting setups. Instagram photos are heavily edited and filtered, and some websites and ads look like works of art.   How do you stand out now? By reverting to the ugly days.   "Ugly ads" and low-production-value content are on the rise. We talked previously about Sam Sulek's massive success on YouTube despite (because of?) ugly thumbnails, terrible titles, horrible lighting, and zero production value.   When taken to an extreme, ugly ads stand out, make you double-take, and make you share them.   But they can also masquerade as regular, organic content.   Here are some amazing "ugly" yet effective ads   Brand: Surreal Screenshot of PowerPoint on a billboard, lolwut? Hilariously bad graphic design Purposely lazy, fourth-wall breaking ad copy   This campaign went mega-viral as a result.   Brand: Wandering Bear "In the wild" shot of the product in action Looks like your dad took a photo of his fridge and posted it   Brand: Nuts(dot)com Excessive close-ups with odd cropping make you stop scrolling A+ pun work on a post-it note Scribbled text on a box to keep you looking longer   Brand: birddogs They don't necessarily need to look terrible, they can just look lo-fi X vs. Y comparison, making the alternative look bad Instagram story aesthetic Emojis for familiarity and casualness   Brand: Harry's You can find the full video in this collection. Low budget phone video of their competitor in store Looks completely organic Makes you immediately curious   Ugly Ads work for a few reasons:   If they're over-the-top hideous: It's completely different than everything else in our feeds. Depending on the intensity, it can be incomprehensible that someone would make an ad that simple or ugly, so it's surprising and delightful. Like when Surreal creates an entire billboard of a screenshot of a horrible, fourth-wall-breaking ad made in PowerPoint.   If they're just low production value: They look and feel like organic posts. We crave authenticity, simplicity, and rawness.   Next steps   Next time you create ads and content, try taking the opposite approach to what you're used to. Specifically, make an ad that looks low-production value. Note: As always, tailor this to your brand, market, and product. If you sell luxury goods, maybe don't do an MS Paint image—but you could do some UGC. If you are a challenger consumer brand, go for it. If you do B2B, maybe take the less intense approach and do a selfie video with the founder. And a shout out to Barry Hott, the king of ugly ads, for making many of these. Follow him for inspiration.   To learn more: Check out a repository of Barry Hott's ugly ads Check my carousel with 6 more examples of ugly ads and why they work—my top LinkedIn post of all time. When you're ready, we can help with your ads We're both agency operators and startup founders. Honestly, the marketing agency industry is terrible for startups. They're slow. Lock you into long contracts. Pass you off to junior talent and try to dazzle you with an account manager with fancy PowerPoint decks and no real marketing experience. We've created an ads agency specifically for the unique needs of startups. Flat rates, month-to-month, and an expert senior team that you'll interface with directly in Slack.   We can help with the full funnel of ads, creatives, CRO/landing pages, and data and analytics.   Prices start at just $3,500 per month.   Learn more to see if we'd be a good fit for your startup. Something fun   From Fucci. How we can help you grow Read our free playbooks, articles, growth guide, and teardowns—we break down the strategies & tactics used by fast-growing startups. Need help running ads? We've built the ads agency for startups. Looking for a growth freelancer or agency? We'll match you with a vetted partner for free. Get in front of 101,000+ founders by sponsoring this newsletter. What did you think of today's newsletter? 😍 Loved it:  Forward to a friend, or reply—a simple 😍 will do! It really helps. 🤷‍♀️ Meh: You can unsubscribe here, or manage your subscription here. 🤔 I'm new here: You can join the party here. 🤩 Give me more: Check out all previous growth tactics in our Growth Vault. Thanks, everyone! I hope all the Northern Hemisphere folks are enjoying summer! Neal O'Grady Justin Setzer Nick Costelloe © 2024 Demand Curve, Inc. 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