You should stop representing and start visualising

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Hello, Creative Souls!

When the problem is too ordinary to grab attention, don’t explain it—reimagine it. That’s exactly what Anador does in its brilliant campaign “Anador – Man”, turning the familiar pain of a headache into an emotional analogy for the chaos of everyday life.

Campaign: “Anador – Man”

Client: Anador
Agency: AlmapBBDO

The Big Idea:
Headaches are universal—but so common, they often get overlooked in advertising. So how do you take something everyone experiences and make it feel fresh, urgent, and relatable?

You don’t talk about throbbing temples or medical diagrams. You create a visual metaphor so real, it feels like your own life on screen.

In this ad, a man’s peaceful moment is quickly hijacked by a rapid-fire onslaught of everyday stressors: his nagging partner, screaming kids, phone calls, work, and more. They appear one by one, and then on loop, echoing the spiraling chaos of an overwhelmed mind.

The line “everything turns into a headache” hits just as the repetition peaks—making Anador’s appearance as the calming solution feel earned, not forced.

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Why This Works:

1. Analogy Over Explanation:

   • Instead of stating that stress causes headaches, the ad visualizes it—showing how modern life feels before introducing the product.

2. Relatability on Overdrive:

   • Everyone’s been there: juggling demands, losing patience, and feeling like your brain’s about to pop. This ad doesn’t sell relief—it reflects reality.

3. Emotional Build-Up, Clinical Payoff:

   • The repetition builds tension until the viewer is just as overwhelmed as the man onscreen—then Anador offers clarity, giving the viewer a mini catharsis.

Why the Execution Matters:

A standard headache ad would’ve used clichés: people rubbing their temples, glowing pills, doctor voiceovers. Anador – Man skips all of that and instead creates an emotional experience.

By feeling like a slice of life—then cranking up the repetition—it turns into a mini psychological thriller, making the relief feel more visceral and real.

This is not just storytelling—it’s mirror-holding, and that’s what makes it unforgettable.

Execution Tips for Brands:

1. Turn Everyday Problems into Emotional Analogies: Bored of explaining? Show it. Let viewers feel the problem.

2. Build Pressure, Then Offer Relief: Whether it’s tension, repetition, or chaos—make your product feel like a release, not a pitch.

3. Use Creative Structure, Not Just Script: This ad doesn’t rely on dialogue. It uses pattern and pace to create immersion.

Ideas Corner:

How other brands can harness this approach:

• Mental Health Apps: Show a person surrounded by buzzing phones, emails, and voices—until the app mutes it all in one tap.

• Sleep Aids: A looping sequence of restless thoughts visually replaced by a calm wave, showing the shift from chaos to peace.

• Finance Tools: Depict a character drowning in “unexpected charges” personified by people knocking on their door—until the tool organizes everything.

Key Takeaways:

Analogy turns ordinary into unforgettable.

• When the problem is too familiar to feel urgent, reframe it.

Emotion first, product second.

• Let people feel the need before you introduce the solution.

Make the Ad an Experience.

• When viewers feel like participants, the product becomes personal.

Conclusion:

The best ads don’t just tell you what the problem is—they let you live it. Anador – Man transforms a simple headache into a relatable spiral of modern chaos, then offers a way out. It’s sharp. It’s clever. And it reminds us that even the most mundane problems can be made meaningful—with the right lens.

So, next time you’re handed a “boring” product brief, ask yourself: what does this feel like in real life? Because that’s where the insight—and the impact—lives.

Figment is written by Abbhinav Kastura, a writer/producer who has spent a decade making impactful internet videos and Guru Nicketan, an advertising nerd, B2B Marketer, stand-up comedian, and a film buff.