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# How to disarm ad haters
- URL: https://www.unbore.com/how-to-disarm-ad-haters/
- Published: 2026-03-01T04:19:45.000Z
- Updated: 2026-03-06T15:18:17.000Z
- Description: People hate try-hards and hate to be sold to. But most ads are a combination of the two. Try this instead...
- Author: Shlomo Genchin
- Tags: Brainstorming

Let’s face it. People hate try-hards and hate being sold to. But most ads are a combination of the two.

![meme: unskippable ad, me looking away to not let them win](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/7c/567cd7c2-834c-4b5b-a024-a798f2ebbdf8/content/images/2026/03/1772379033954-adhaters1.jpg)

So, here are three techniques that help me create ads that don’t sound like a sleazy salesman:

## 1\. Use self-deprecation

![old ads, making fun of themselves](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/7c/567cd7c2-834c-4b5b-a024-a798f2ebbdf8/content/images/2026/03/1772379034352-adhaters2.webp)

🎓 **Why?*​* 
*​*[The ‘beautiful mess’ effect:](https://bigthink.com/personal-growth/the-beautiful-mess-effect-other-people-view-our-vulnerability-more-positively-than-we-do/?ref=unbore.com)  
Revealing our weaknesses makes us more likable.

💡 **How?*​* 
*​*Ask: What are the disadvantages of my product that everyone is aware of but no one dares to mention?

## 2\. Tease them

![ads that tease](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/7c/567cd7c2-834c-4b5b-a024-a798f2ebbdf8/content/images/2026/03/1772379034883-adhaters3.jpg)

🎓 **Why?*​* 
*​*[Playful teasing leads to closeness between the teaser and the recipient.](https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2020.0370?ref=unbore.com#RSBL20200370C10R)*​*

💡 ***How?*** 
**​**Ask: What do our customers secretly do while thinking we don’t notice?

## 3\. Break the fourth wall

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/7c/567cd7c2-834c-4b5b-a024-a798f2ebbdf8/content/images/2026/03/1772379035466-adhaters4.jpg)

🎓**Why?**​  
Prof. Stephen Brown said: “Marketers know about consumers, consumers know about marketers, marketers know consumers know about marketers, and consumers know marketers know consumers know about marketers.” *So why pretend?*

💡 ***How?*** ​  
Drop the tricks. Tell them it’s an ad.