On paper, these ads should work!

One of the most common phrases in marketing is:

“On paper, this should work.”

The targeting is right.
The offer is solid.
The creative follows best practices.

The plan is perfect.

And yet the campaign falls flat.

This usually leads to more tweaking.

A new headline.
A different audience.
A revised offer.

But rarely a deeper question.

Because when something “should” work but doesn’t, the problem is usually not execution.

It’s assumption.

Most marketing strategies are built in spreadsheets, not in markets. A lot of annual plans are systemically rigid, ambiguous, and open-ended.

They are designed to be logically correct instead of psychologically compelling. And drive REAL results.

Founders are told to be risk-averse with their brand.

Don’t be too bold.
Don’t be too different.
Don’t narrow the audience too much.

Play it safe. Blend in. Follow what already works.

But safe strategies don’t compete in theory. They compete in reality.

And in real markets, you’re not operating in a classroom exercise.

You’re operating in the wild west.

Your ads appear in a feed crowded with hundreds of competent competitors doing the same thing.

When every brand follows best practices, best practices become background noise.

This is why so many campaigns are structurally sound and strategically weak.

They are built to be correct, not to be chosen.

Risk-averse brands optimize for being acceptable.

Strong brands optimize for being distinctive.

And distinctiveness is not a creative flourish, it’s a competitive advantage.

The ads that break through are rarely the safest ones on paper.

They are the ones that signal identity.

They take a point of view.
They choose a lane.
They sound like someone, not something.

Weak ads try to offend no one.
Strong ads resonate deeply with a few and let the rest go.

That feels dangerous to founders.

But in crowded markets, blending in is the greater risk.

Because attention is not awarded for technical accuracy.

It is awarded for clarity and character.

Your ads don’t fail because the numbers are wrong.

They fail because the brand is playing defense in a game that rewards offense.

In theory, safe marketing makes sense.

In reality, safe marketing disappears.

That is the difference between what works on paper and what works in markets.

__
the creative clarity project no. 6