You’ve heard ads written around features and benefits. These ads are weary beyond words.

“Our red beans and rice are the perfect blend of rice carbohydrates and bean protein, making them the perfect food for health-conscious vegans and vegetarians.”

You’ve heard ads that are aspirational, appealing to a listener’s sense of upward mobility and accomplishment.

“Our red beans and rice are the best Cajun dish in greater New Orleans. Your friends will be impressed that you know who’s who and what’s what.”

But more powerful than features and benefits – and much more convincing than aspirational ads – are messages that bridge into magical thinking.

“If you see a woman with a spring in her step and a twinkle in her eye, you can be sure she’s been to Roy’s Cajun Kitchen. Our red beans and rice make every day a 3-day weekend, and when you finish the bowl, you’ll glitter when you walk. Our beans and rice are illegal in 7 states and under investigation in 11 more. Simply stated, they will change your life. Get a bowl while they remain available… at Roy’s.”

Air that radio ad and count the number of customers who walk through the door and mention the woman with a spring in her step and a twinkle in her eye, or who desperately need a 3-day weekend, or who want to glitter when they walk. Count the customers who mention “those illegal beans and rice.”

Magical thinking creates engagement by delivering entertainment and encouragement.

Features and benefits are about presenting the truth in a logical manner.

Aspirational ads are about ego.

But magical thinking is about winning the unconscious mind, the illogical heart, knowing that it will convince the conscious mind to create the logic that is needed to justify what the heart has already decided.