Every company has Untold Story assets that are hiding in plain sight, and every company has Limiting Factors that are holding them back.

This is how you lift a company to new heights:

1. Uncover the Untold Stories.

2. Devise a plan to overcome the Limiting Factors.

Untold Stories and Limiting Factors are not always related.

Limiting Factors usually stem from

(A.) Company Culture (the vibe of the hive)

(B.) Competitive Environment (strengths of opponents and adversaries)

Untold Stories always begin at the intersection of Who and Why.

(A.) Who pulled the trigger? (Origin Story)

(B.) Why did that trigger exist? (Character Diamond)

Great ad campaigns require Interesting Characters.

Interesting Characters require:

(A.) Character Diamonds (Four conflicted, defining characteristics that cause this character to think, act, speak, and see the world the way they do.)

(B.) Origin Stories (What happened that put them on the path to where they are now?)

Customers should hear each Untold Story in the appropriate Emotional Environment.

The appropriate Emotional Environment is created by

(A.) The opening sentence of the ad (FMI – First Mental Image)

(B.) Media scheduling (what is the customer thinking and feeling right now?)

College professors, con-men, and private equity groups believe the primary goal of an ad writer should be to communicate the features and benefits of the product to the customer. But Wizards of Ads know the primary goal of an ad writer is to bond the hearts of the public to the advertiser.

Listeners hear these customer-bonding ads and think, “Wow! You, too? I thought I was the only one.” These customer-bonding ads cause the client’s name to be the one that customers think of first and feel the best about.

Untold Stories hide in the hearts of advertisers. Customer-bonding ads are born when you uncover those stories and write them in an unpredictable way.

Predictable ads are boring.

Here is a warm and happy customer-bonding ad Michael Torbay found hiding in the heart of his client on a cold and grey winter day:

MARK: “It was the Pop-Tart that did it. I’m Mark Tapper. Someone recently asked me about the day I knew I had to propose to my girlfriend. Spoiler alert: she’s my wife now. But somehow the sound of that toaster popping made me feel so ‘single.’ I loved being single, make no mistake! I got to travel, tried on a few different jobs, went back to school, reinvented myself a couple of times. I was a-work-in-progress when I met Leora. She believed in me more than I did. That was what was on my mind when it suddenly popped: It wasn’t about me anymore. It was about us, together. That’s what I think about when I come to work at Tapper’s Jewelry. I get to meet people at the most exciting time of their lives, and we get to show you a diamond that will express how you feel right now, forever. Come to Tapper’s, tell us your story.”

These are the moments in that ad when a customer might think, “Wow! You, too?”

1. I suddenly felt so ‘single.’

2. I reinvented myself a couple of times.

3. I was a-work-in-progress when I met [my wife]

4. She believed in me more than I did.

5. It wasn’t about me anymore. It was about us, together.

Here is another customer-bonding ad for a client in the same category. 

Listen closely and you’ll hear Jacob Harrison ask his client a question off-mic. Notice how this ad is equally powerful, but comes at you from an entirely different direction:

DEVIN: Brad Lawrence, owner of Gold Casters Fine Jewelry.

BRAD: When I opened the store, I had no money. We didn’t have the money for inventory. I brought wax models from school to use to cast...