Full ads Swipe File

M — Mechanism

Mechanism: The mechanism is DTC subscription — razors delivered monthly at $1, eliminating the store experience entirely. But the video's mechanism is humor as trust-building: by being irreverent about their own product ('great' not 'revolutionary'), they signal honesty. The anti-mechanism mechanism: we're NOT claiming space-age technology, which paradoxically makes the product MORE credible.

B — Brief

Brief: Brand launch video, dual purpose — viral awareness + subscription conversion. Brief demanded humor-first positioning to differentiate from Gillette's hyper-masculine, technology-driven messaging. Budget: $4,500. Target: men 18-45 who were annoyed by razor prices but had never considered alternatives. The brief explicitly called for CEO as spokesperson to signal founder authenticity.

C — Copy

Copy technique: The video opens with Michael Dubin walking through the warehouse — no set, no production value, just a guy and a camera. This is deliberate: the low-budget aesthetic signals 'we spend money on blades, not marketing.' The profanity in the title ('F***ing Great') serves as a self-aware permission slip — it says 'we know this is advertising, and we're not going to pretend otherwise.' 12,000 orders in the first 48 hours. The video's copy structure is: problem (razors are overpriced) → mechanism (we cut out the middleman) → proof (walk through the warehouse) → CTA (join the club).

M — Mechanism

Mechanism: The mechanism is computer-personalized direct mail — each letter was addressed to the recipient by surname and offered a 'coat of arms' research report. The mechanism married mass production with perceived personalization. The product (a printed family crest) cost pennies to produce but felt like a custom artifact. The mechanism's genius: it turned data (a mailing list of surnames) into perceived personal attention.

B — Brief

Brief: Cold-prospect direct mail for a family crest product. Brief called for a letter that felt like it came from a genealogical research firm, not a mail-order company. Price point: under $20. Volume target: millions of letters per month. The brief required a format that could be personalized at scale using database mail-merge technology — a new capability in the 1970s.

C — Copy

Copy technique: The letter opens with the recipient's own surname — the most powerful word in any person's vocabulary. The body builds curiosity about the name's history, origin, and heraldic significance. The offer (a framed coat of arms) is positioned as a discovery, not a purchase. Halbert mailed 600 million+ of these letters. The copy works because it exploits a universal truth: everyone is interested in themselves. The letter doesn't sell a product — it sells identity validation.

M — Mechanism

Mechanism: 75 vitamins, minerals, and whole-food ingredients in one scoop. The mechanism is radical simplification — replace your entire supplement cabinet with one daily drink. The number '75' does heavy lifting: it's high enough to feel comprehensive but specific enough to feel researched. The mechanism is the anti-stack: not one more thing to add, but one thing to replace everything.

B — Brief

Brief: Podcast ad read + landing page for DTC supplement subscription. Brief required a format that worked in audio (podcast reads are AG1's primary acquisition channel) and visual (landing page). The single-SKU constraint meant the brief had to generate desire for ONE product at a premium price ($79/mo) without comparison-shopping. Solution: position against the alternative (buying 10 supplements separately costs more).

C — Copy

Copy technique: AG1's landing page follows a rigid structure: hero claim ('All-in-one daily nutrition') → social proof (podcast hosts, athletes) → mechanism stack (75 ingredients listed) → simplification promise ('Replace your supplements') → subscription CTA. The copy avoids health claims and instead sells a lifestyle identity: 'people who have their nutrition handled.' The genius is that AG1 doesn't sell health — it sells the feeling of having already solved the health problem. The subscriber doesn't take AG1 to get healthy; they take it to stop thinking about supplements.

M — Mechanism

Mechanism: The mechanism is a proprietary economic analysis that predicts a specific financial collapse scenario. The mechanism isn't 'buy our newsletter' — it's 'we've identified the exact sequence of events that will unfold.' The specificity of the prediction (named events, dates, consequences) transforms a general fear ('the economy is bad') into a concrete threat with a concrete defense (the subscription).

B — Brief

Brief: Long-form video sales letter (VSL) for a financial newsletter subscription. Brief demanded a documentary-style format with charts, B-roll of economic collapse imagery, and a calm, authoritative narrator voice. Target: conservative-leaning investors 50+ with $100K+ in savings who already distrusted government monetary policy. Price point: $49-$149/year newsletter subscription.

C — Copy

Copy technique: The VSL runs 60-90 minutes — an eternity by modern standards, but engagement metrics proved that qualified prospects watched 80%+. The copy structure is: alarming thesis ('America's financial system will collapse') → evidence stack (charts, data, historical parallels) → mechanism reveal (the specific trigger event) → urgency ('by the time most people realize, it will be too late') → solution (subscribe for protective strategies). The 'End of America' headline uses catastrophic framing to self-select high-anxiety prospects. This single campaign reportedly generated over $100M in subscription revenue.

M — Mechanism

Mechanism: The Hyper-Elastic Polymer grid — Purple's proprietary material that compresses under sustained pressure but cushions on impact. The raw egg test demonstrates this: eggs dropped onto the Purple grid don't break, but a glass panel (simulating a conventional mattress) shatters them. The mechanism is visible, physical, and impossible to fake. This is RMBC mechanism work at its finest: the mechanism IS the ad.

B — Brief

Brief: YouTube pre-roll and social ad for DTC mattress brand. Budget: ~$500K (high for DTC at the time). Brief required a demonstration that would prove the product claim in under 10 seconds, then extend into a 2-minute brand video. The Harmon Brothers were hired specifically because their format (humor + product demo) had worked for Squatty Potty. The brief demanded a 'see it to believe it' moment.

C — Copy

Copy technique: The ad opens with the raw egg test — the demonstration IS the hook, the mechanism, and the proof all in one shot. No setup, no story, no testimonial. Just eggs on a mattress grid. The humor comes after the demonstration, not before — the product earns attention first, then the comedy extends watch time. The copy structure inverts the traditional DR format: instead of problem → mechanism → proof → CTA, it's proof → mechanism explanation → problem acknowledgment → CTA. Purple reportedly spent $600M+ on paid media running variations of this creative.

M — Mechanism

Mechanism: A tiered referral system — refer friends, unlock increasingly valuable free products (shave cream → razor → full set). The mechanism isn't just 'tell a friend' — it's gamified progression. Each referral tier was chosen to match the perceived value of the social effort required. The mechanism turned each subscriber into a salesperson with a visible progress bar.

B — Brief

Brief: Pre-launch referral campaign email. The brief required a single email that could: (1) explain the brand story in 3 sentences, (2) communicate the referral tiers clearly, and (3) make sharing feel like a favor to friends rather than spamming them. Target: early adopters in the tech/startup community who were primed for 'disrupt the incumbents' narratives.

C — Copy

Copy technique: The email is ruthlessly simple — one paragraph of brand story, one visual of the referral tiers, one CTA button. No long-form copy, no testimonials, no feature comparison. The copy bet everything on two psychological triggers: scarcity (pre-launch = exclusive) and social proof (your referral count = status). The subject line 'You're Invited' reframes a commercial email as a personal invitation. 100,000 signups in 7 days with $0 in paid media.