Why “Ugly” Ads Convert Better Than Pretty Ones

There is no denying that in our society, we are endlessly confronted with advertisements — everything from slick magazine ads to billboards to sponsored posts on Instagram to flashing banner ads. I want you to sit and think about all these types of advertisements and focus on which you believe convert the best. 

We are all conditioned to believe that beautiful ads work better. We see an ad with the elegant model pitching a high-end hair care line and think it will sell more bottles of shampoo that the awkward text and image ad. That is not the case. As more time goes by, savvy internet marketers are starting to realize that, actually, “ugly” converts better a lot of the time. 

So why does the ugly advertisement work better?

Because they stand out to the consumer. They don’t see them as advertisements. Our brains aren’t already conditioned to ignore this type of ad, so our subconscious allows us to absorb the marketing. 

Imagine you are looking to buy a new car. You enter the dealership, and there are two salesmen one is dressed to the nines in a slick suit with bespoke detailing the second is dressed in khakis and a basic button-down. Which would you prefer to negotiate with, who would you trust more? 

People are conditioned not to trust the slick salesman!

The average looking salesman is trustworthy. He will not take us for a ride by padding his commission instead of giving us the best deal. This scenario is a real-world example of why “ugly” internet advertising works better! If you look honest and straightforward, people don’t assume you are hard selling. 

Let’s quickly talk about conversion rates, so we are on the same page. The Conversion Rate of a campaign is the percentage of people who clicked on an ad and then completed an action/purchase/conversion. For example, if one person made a purchase after an advertisement had been clicked on 100 times, that will give a Conversion Rate of 1%. Raising the conversion rate is the goal of all digital marketing. 

I have been running the same ad for three years. It isn’t the fanciest of ads, and to be honest, as my branding has matured the ad feels a bit out of date, but you know what it still CRUSHES IT!! It has the highest conversion rate of all my advertisements. So why would I “beautify” it when it is converting so well?  

Simplicity works! 

It grabs attention!

As you create the copy for your email marketing lists and funnels test this out. The more simple the text is the better. This is a really powerful paradigm shift. Consumers believe ugly ads couldn’t be lying or selling something overpriced. We overcomplicate things as marketers, ugly ads work!