A cereal DTC brand that stole my heart

I admire companies that are operating as marketing-first companies because they understand distribution. Surreal is one of them. It’s the Liquid Death of DTC brands in the cereal category.

I’ve been obsessed with their OOH marketing. Not only that, they’re killing it on LinkedIn, too. Why would a cereal DTC brand focus on LinkedIn? Well, join my mastermind; I’ll invite them to chat with us soon.

Talking about their OOH marketing, look how cool they look.

Here are their founders’s POV “posts” that I fell in love with:

Here are their employer UGC creator posts/ads:

But this ad/billboard stole my heart and the hearts of many others:

Here are some more:

All I can say that this company knows:

• Persuasive copywriting

• Humor that hits home

• Leaning into trends (AI)

Now that you understand how big a fan I am. Let’s see how well they are doing on Meta Ads.

Ad # 1 – Exaggerating the enemy ad

This ad has been running for more than 30 days, let’s see why it works:

What immediately stands out:

• The hook really hooked me in

• Showing tears within seconds of using a lousy product

• The use of milk and cardboard

• The yuck feeling you get when you eat cardboard, aka enemy product

• The exaggeration and humor about the benefits of the enemy product

• Up until the 8 second mark, the creator kept exaggerating

• It’s kind of a skit ad

• Re-iterating that cereals don’t need to be boring or sugary (two things we like to avoid)

Most importantly, the primary text copywriting hits the guilt emotion and nostalgia of the cereal you used to look forward to as a kid.

What can we learn from this ad:

• Use the exaggerated version of your enemy products. For example, if you sell shoes, you can compare them with cheap shoes that give you a shoe bite. This kind of advertising is called puffing.

  
  So, what is it? Puffery is like extravagant claims to create a positive impression of their product or service without making specific factual assertions that can be proven false.

Puffery ad example here:

• Lean into the emotions that your customers are feeling–the guilt, nostalgia, and boredom.

You can steal the entire script and use it for your ad, no kidding.

I love (enemy product). It's got so much ____ (horrible thing), a ____ (horrible thing) once you put the ____ on it, it's so ____ (add benefit) and there's so much variety to choose from.

Don't be like Susan. Eat/do ____ (your product) instead, (product category) ____ doesn't need to be ____ (pain # 1) or super ____ (pain #2).

It can be full of ____ (a feature that is like a benefit) and comes in delicious ____ flavors/varieties that are going to remind you of your childhood, so don't eat ____ (exaggerated product), ____(use it for a good cause) it. So head to the ____ (product) website and try them out today.

Here’s the actual script if you like:

I love cardboard. It's got so much flavor and texture once you put the milk on it. It's so delicious and there's so much variety to choose from.

Don't be like Susan, try Surreal instead, cereal doesn't need to be boring or super sugary.

It can be full of protein, have zero sugar and come in delicious flavors that will remind you of your childhood. So don't eat cardboard; recycle it. And head to the Surreal website and try them out today.

Here’s how I used this script for one of my client’s baby-development app Kinedu:

I love reading long boring books about baby development. They’ve got so many long paragraphs and it takes a long time to find the right activity for my child based on his age. There are so many long boring, medical jargony books to choose from.

Don't be like Susan, try the Kinedu app instead. Learning about your baby's development doesn't need to be stressful or overwhelming.

It can be full of joy, bonding time and special milestones and achievements that will help your child grow and thrive and even remind you with lasting mommy-child memories.

So, don’t buy fat boring books; donate them. Head to the Kinedu app–try it out today.

You get the point.

Ad # 2 – Fun founder ad

This ad has been running for more than 30 days, let’s see why it works:

What immediately stands out:

• The hook: We’re reinventing cereal – here’s why

• They are now testing another hook with: We’ve created a game-changing new cereal – here’s why

• Funny bits: cereal addict, breakfast tycoon, I’m wearing a suit so you know I am good at business, paid models like it too, etc…

• The founder picks the narrative we all can relate to:: We stop eating cereals once we find out how much sugar is in it.

• The Venn diagram: healthy AND tasty – I was looking for an example like that for my brands for a while

• Social proof: 30,000+ happy customers

• The old ad has no CTA with a good offer

• The new ad has code: SURREALTIME to get money off the first order

So what we can steal from this ad:

• The Venn diagram is the easiest thing to steal

• The video is fast-paced and empahsized visuals with words

• Use fun humor tidbits if your founder can pull it off

• Use the story/narrative that everyone can relate to, then tap into consumer mindsets to provide an alternative

• He used the rule of 3 – with three benefits; we could also use this in our ads so that they're punchy and real

Consider it stolen.

Ad # 3 – Founder story told by employees

This is NOT a proven ad (not running longer than 30 days) but a great concept we can steal.

What immediately stands out:

• It is a similar story but told by an employee – it feels even more believable

• The hook: Showing an office guy playing table tennis

• The storytelling aspect with a bit of humor

What can we steal from this ad:

• You can stand out by letting an employee tell your story

• You can make self-deprecating humor about yourself

• Make the problem and solution apparent in your storytelling

• You copy the script structure

So here’s the TL;DR:

1. Great marketing starts from your values, and here’s what I found on their story page.

2. Use “puffery” to exaggerate your ads and make the enemy stupidly BIG.

3. Use a narrative that your prospects are already thinking in their heads.

4. Lean into emotions and the psychology of guilt, nostalgia, and humor.

5. Be part of pop culture by using trends like AI and ChatGPT.

6. Use employees as UGC creators.

Happy Growing with Paid Social,

Aazar Shad

This newsletter is free and I write it because I am curious. It would be great if you could give me feedback to let me know if I am helping you.

Three ways I can help you, whenever you are ready:

• Work with me to get you growth from paid marketing. Book a call here (currently taking new clients)

• Promote yourself to 10,000+ highly qualified paid marketers by sponsoring this newsletter. Check it out here.

• Level up your paid marketing by joining my community, where we share the latest tactics and get nuanced paid marketing questions answered here (we are now 55+ there). The gates are closing soon until next quarter.

Refer Friends, Earn Rewards!

Know friends, family, or colleagues who would benefit from The Performers to improve their paid marketing?

1. Refer just ONE Person, and you’ll get my “Best Viral Threads” delivered straight to your inbox.

2. Sign up 5 people, and you’ll get my exclusive “Free Account Audit”. Thanks for spreading the word.

And if this was forwarded to you, subscribe below with 1-click: