I want you to try NOT to think of an elephant. You can fill your head with any thoughts you like but make sure that you don’t think of an elephant. If you’re like most people then you probably have this big, bulky grey monster standing in front of you. Interesting.

Why this works the way it does is a discussion for another day. For now, I want to show you this ad, which seems to be based on the concept of reverse psychology. In the US, Black Friday launches the retail holiday season. Last year, while most retailers encouraged consumers to buy, buy, buy … Patagonia did the exact opposite. Here’s the ad:

Putting reverse psychology aside… this ad is a great attention grabber! It will be interesting to see what they have planned for this year. Back to the ad… it sure is different. Seriously, I don’t think you’ll forget it anytime soon. And the approach makes them seem different to the competition. It should also be more appealing to those people who hate the modern consumerism, Cyber Mondays, Black Fridays or Boxing Days. They also tried a similar angle with their Don’t Buy This Shirt Unless You Need It ad and my guess is – since they repeated the approach – it must be working for them. Of course, how can a clothing manufacturing behemoth discourage consumerism without sounding hypocritical? And that’s why it makes sense to have a skilled copywriter on board!