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The Power of What You Don’t Say
How strategic mystery makes your advertising irresistible
Aaron Shields
May 27, 2025
Ever feel like most advertising washes over you?
A barrage of boasts. A checklist of features. Every detail explained.
Local car dealers shouting, “No credit, no problem. Every make, every model.”
You know the script before it ends.
There’s no room for imagination.
Because to spark imagination, you must leave something out. So that people begin to wonder.
Curiosity is a powerful human driver. We instinctively want to peek behind the curtain. To figure things out.
Great storytellers understand this drive. They make us grip our seats. Perk our ears. Attention rapt. Waiting to hear what’s next.
You don’t want to see the ending coming. When you do, the story fails to engage you. And your interest fades.
The same principle holds true in business. And it can make your messages far more compelling.
Stop Drowning Customers in Details
You don’t need to tell your customer everything upfront.
When you let customers discover good things about your brand, you do more than sell. You spark a connection. You make them lean in. You make them engage.
This active discovery creates a deeper relationship. They become invested. And they’re more likely to express favorable opinions about you.
It may sound counterintuitive. But this idea built some of the most iconic ad campaigns in history.
The VW Beetle: Embracing the Lemon
In 1960, Bill Bernbach led art director Helmut Krone and copywriter Julian Koenig. Together, they made one of the most famous and successful ads of all time. It showed a pristine Beetle with the label “Lemon.””
When you see it, you wonder, “How is this car a lemon? It looks perfect.” The intriguing word draws you in. It compels you to read the next seven paragraphs of the ad to uncover the mystery. To find out why. You find out they’re honest. They’re meticulous—the car was a lemon because of a tiny blemish. And as you do, something else happens. You start to trust them. |  It's almost impossible not to think, "Why is this car a lemon? It looks fine." |
Because spending time with a brand builds a stronger relationship. It makes them feel familiar.
And we trust the things we find familiar.
All because VW left something out.
The Man in the Hathaway Shirt: The Power of a Patch
Flashback to 1961.
David Ogilvy needed to boost sales for a shirt company that was 116 years old and not well known.
 Why does this gentleman have an eye patch? | He put an eyepatch on a distinguished man, Baron George Wrangell. And you’re forced to wonder: “Who is this man? What’s with the eye patch?" But Ogilvy never explained the patch. The ads portrayed the type of man who wears Hathaway shirts. He is sophisticated, intriguing, and a little bit of a risk-taker. The eye patch was intriguing. It made people curious and inspired them to want to be like the mysterious man who wore it. |
The shirts flew off the shelves.
In the first week, every shirt in New York sold out.
And a small, unknown company became a major competitor.
The Most Interesting Man in the World: A Legend Made, Not Explained
Fast forward to 2006.
Dos Equis brought back the allure of Ogilvy’s Hathaway man in "The Most Interesting Man In The World."
For a decade, we got hilarious, understated glimpses into his epic life:
He was aspirational. But also relatable ("he doesn't always drink beer"). And people didn’t just watch the commercials. They investigated. |  You want to be like him, but he’s also like you. |
They searched online to find out more. What actor plays him? Where is he from? What other things has he done?
They became engaged.
They became familiar.
And they built associations that influenced purchases.
Dos Equis became the fastest-growing beer brand. They shipped 116.6% more barrels in 2013 than they did in 2008.
Crafting Your Own Intrigue
When customers explore your brand, they become more engaged. It is more effective than sharing everything all at once.
Mystery is a strategic tool to:
Cut through the noise: When everyone else is yelling, a strategic whisper is more compelling.
Engage your audience: People value what they have to work for. Discovery leads to familiarity. Familiarity leads to a stronger connection.
Make your brand memorable: Intrigue sticks. A well-crafted mystery makes your ad, and by extension, your brand, hard to forget.
Boost perceived value: Sometimes, what you don’t say makes what you do say seem more significant.
So, if you want to leverage mystery for your brand, ask yourself:
What’s one compelling part of our product, service, or brand story that we often explain but could hint at instead? (Think about a unique benefit, a surprising origin, or an unexpected quality.)
How can we invite curiosity in a way that aligns with our brand's core identity and values? (The mystery shouldn't feel like a gimmick. It should feel authentic to who you are.)
When customers dig deeper, what clear, positive, and reinforcing message will they find? (The payoff of the mystery must be satisfying and build trust.)
How does this discovery make our customers feel smarter, more informed, or part of an exclusive group? (This helps them identify with your brand on a deeper level.)
When used wisely, a hint of mystery can boost the effectiveness of your ads. It can transform how people perceive and engage with your brand.
It makes you less like an open book and more like a fascinating story that they want to be a part of.
Onward,
Aaron Shields
P.S. Feeling like your current advertising is adding to the noise instead of creating genuine intrigue? Let's talk. Reply to this email, and I’ll set up a free 15-minute call. We'll look at how a smart and slightly mysterious approach can make your brand more engaging.
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