We set up an assembly line of hundreds of banners, argue over minuscule phrasing, and conduct endless A/B tests just to see the graph go up by another fraction of a percent. On paper, it looks like thorough and scientific work. In practice? We are focusing on the trivial.
Because we are so obsessed with ‘efficiency’ and saving on media, we’ve lost the ability to be ‘effective’ and create real impact. A comprehensive and fascinating study by System1, in collaboration with the IPA and the Effie Awards (the bible of advertising effectiveness), reveals a very interesting statistic: we are giving up on the “creative dividend”, and this concession is costing us millions.
What is this dividend and why is it worth money to you?
The study examined thousands of campaigns over the years and found a direct and significant correlation: the more positive emotion (joy, surprise, laughter) an ad evokes, the more the brand’s market share grows in the long run. The researchers at System1 rate ads from 1 to 5 stars based on the emotional response they evoke.
The data shows that a “boring” or overly rational campaign (a 1-star rating) brings an average, minuscule market share growth of 0.5%. In contrast, an “outstanding” campaign that appeals to emotion (5 stars) brings an average growth of 2.5%.
In simple terms: excellent creative is not a nice “bonus” for the ad agency’s ego. It is an economic force multiplier. It allows you to invest the exact same media budget and get 5 times better business results. That is the dividend – the excess profit that comes to you simply because you were brave.
With the advent of artificial intelligence, this challenge has become even greater. Any marketer can open up their favorite LLM, generate copy, design in Nano Banana, and within seconds produce content that is simply… “good enough”. The result? Our feed is flooded with “okay”. Everything looks good, everything is phrased correctly, but nothing grabs you by the gut. When everything looks “professional and reasonable”, the significance of a human, brilliant, funny, or moving idea becomes more critical than ever.
So what do we do tomorrow morning?
Stop being afraid of risk. Measure emotion, not just clicks: Start checking how your content makes people feel. Comments, shares, and sentiment are no less critical metrics than CTR.
Invest in brand building: Performance campaigns are important for the current quarter to close targets, but creative campaigns build the quarters of the years to come.
In conclusion, don’t let Excel kill the idea. The truly big money hides where people smile.
