The 16 Human Desires That Make Ads Convert (and Make You Money)

why do some Brands crush it on meta ads While others struggle to survive the secret all comes down to making ad creative that truly speaks to your customers's deepest psychological desires so in this video I'm actually going to break down the 16 human desires core motivators that truly motivate every single decision we make plus we're going to look at examples for all 16 of these so that you can learn how to make ad creative that converts so what are the 16 human desires this concept comes from an Ohio State University Professor named Steven Rice who

wrote the book who am I and he discovered that these 16 desires are Universal motivators and essentially they motivate every single decision we make from how we live our lives and even what we buy each desire represents a core human need like the need for acceptance or curiosity or power now while we all share these same desires they obviously show up in each of our lives very differently and that's why understanding them especially for your custom Custer is so wildly powerful and advertising now before we dive into all 16 human desires with examples I want

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look at competitors and see when they actually started running their Black Friday sales if they coincided with a new product launch this kind of a data really gives me the feeling that I can produce actual competitive strategies for the brands that I work with so if you work at a brand or an agency this is a real no-brainer for competitor research all right let's do this let's look at all 16 desires with examples number one is acceptance and this is essentially the need to be appreciated and accepted for who we truly are so ads that

often lean into this are showing community and belonging for example dov's real Beauty campaign gave people this feeling of acceptance despite the type of people and standards that they saw in the media another way you can do this is like hexclad here by showing certain numbers of social proof I really like this big number and and then it's saying hey for home Cooks just like you it's making them feel like they are really part of that massive Community I also really like this example with motten bow now what's interesting here is they are also leaning

into that family angle just even mentioning family can sometimes trigger up those feelings of emotions for your family but I'd argue to say that this one is actually a little bit more into feeling accepted by your family because it's showing hey my family always dresses up at these family gatherings and now I feel like I wrong and number two is curiosity now I see this one as a little bit twofold number one there's a universal need to seek knowledge and to learn this pursuit of knowledge so to speak and number two I'd say that there

is also this innate Drive in humans when our curiosity is peaked or we're intrigued about something now I think this ad from the hustle really speaks overtly to becoming smarter and well informed but you could also just make your audience curious about you that is also tapping into that human desire and number three is eating this is simply the need for food I actually like to consider this one like the Anthony bouran of desires he had a great drive to experience culture and togetherness and community Through food and drinking I personally like to think that

breaking bread and giving cheers is a core human desire even if it tends to look different from person to person now I think nearly any brand that has to do with food or drinking can you know very legitimately tap into this human desire I think this is also a great example by Kolkata chai by really using the act of tea and chai as the way to feel community and next one is family this is a really really big one and essentially this is our need to provide for and also protect our loved ones historically we

saw this type of messaging for insurance companies and even the automobile industry which really leaned into safety and protecting our family at all costs interestingly enough moving into 2025 I actually see Brands like cuts and true Classics constantly referring to their families and I think that's ultimately because they know who their customer is they're family oriented people so it makes sense why they want to tap into that human desire next one up is honor this is essentially the need to stay faithful to Old values and traditions I'd say this is most often used with brands

that have deep cultural or even religious ties I think some people are really acutely driven by Honor and you can often trigger this Desire by even just bringing up the act of a religious habit I actually think a really good way to see this one in action is to look at this comparison across a few of live transcribes ads these first two ads that talk about people who are having trouble following conversation that's actually leaning more into the acceptance human desire but once they mention going to church that's actually tapping into something that feels a

little bit more like honor right because they're saying hey it's not that I just wanted to gossip or hear this frivolous conversation I wanted to hear the sermons at church it really frames who this customer is a lot more right another great way to see this type of desire and action too is through the use of patriotism like this ad next one up is idealism which is pretty similar right this is essentially the need for social justice or making the world a better place Brands like Patagonia Thrive here they're really trying to inspire action as

well as environmental causes I think another great way to frame this human desire to is about doing the right thing the next human desire is independence and this essentially is our desire to not only be unique but also to be self-sufficient so Brands like Harley-Davidson that really lean into Independence and are also a little bit counterculture lean into this type of human desire this is essentially for customers who really value their freedom but not in like a patriotic kind of way you know what I mean a really great example of this type of Desire is

actually the Step full ad now this ad is actually again bringing up that family role but what they're actually trying to get at is hey this is something that I wanted to do for me as the individual which is actually leaning a lot more into Independence instead of more of the family desire next up is order or the need for structure and predictability I like to consider this one the Marie condo of desires I personally feel like I get this one in Sprints it's definitely not an all the time kind of thing for this one

think of home organization Brands like The Container Store which promis to bring organization to chaotic spaces I really like this quiet Town example oh yep there's a spot for that and I also think a lot of Brands lean into this particular desire especially coming up on the new year with the idea of getting more organized and having more processes yada yada next up is physical activity I would say that some people definitely have this human desire more than others right but it's essentially the need to exercise the body and fitness brands are obviously masters of

tap into this type of thing like pelaton Soul cycle even Nike the thing that I like about this desire right is I think it can also be pretty aspirational kind of like this true classic example the number one te for guys who lift well it can actually be for guys who lift or guys who want to lift or want to lift more and the next one is power now this one is actually more about the power to control your own outcomes as opposed to you know insert a picture of trump here ads for financial services

are luxury cars often appeal to this Desire by showcasing success and influence I actually think obv to does a really good job at leaning into this power desire right they use language like take control of your weight or 90 days to get your life back it's actually more about empowering your consumer and making them feel like they have the tools they need to succeed that's really what power is and the next one is romance which is the Need For Love connection and obviously sex unsurprisingly perfume and jewelry Brands lean heavily into this human desire but

another brand that often does too especially in their meta ads is Dr Squatch they're really trying to appeal to men in relationships or men who want to be in relationships or even the girlfriends next up is what I would call a real old school human desire which is saving and essentially this is the need to preserve or accumulate resources so ads for saving apps or even budget friendly Brands really tap into this human desire hexclad again I think we did a really good job here now of course I would say you know every time you

use a discount that's not going to be appealing to the saving human desire but the reason why I think hexclad did it really well here is cuz they actually broke everything down step by step and they were really appealing to that person who was way more costc conscious I think Elia did a really good job with this one too by tapping into people's need to not want to waste money and then we have social contact this is simply the need for our relationships with others mostly friends and I think sometimes just even referring to those

core relationships can trigger this emotion I really love this example by Thrive Cosmetics because referring to This Woman's girlfriends is actually doing a few things number one it's absolutely tapping in to that need for social contact but it's also a little bit of social proof right and that innately when we're talking about Word of Mouth marketing feels quite a bit more authentic and natural similar to social contact is the next human desire of social status and this is the need for significance or Prestige I'd say this is pretty similar to the power human desire but

it is a little different unsurprisingly luxury fashion brands very often lean into this type of human Desire by saying hey our products will elevate your status when I think of this human desire My Mind automatically goes to magazine print ads of the 9s all right and the next one is tranquility this is essentially the need for peace and calm unsurprisingly Wellness Brands very often tap into this type of Desire promising relief from anxiety or fear or stress and I actually created an ad recently that centered in on this core desire that ended up spending over

$2 million on meta ads with a three row as so really do not discount this desire the brand Loop very often leans into this desire and the final one is Vengeance and God I love that this is a desire that is spelled out this is essentially the need to write a wrong or the need to protect or assert yourself it's the need to get revenge whenever I think about this human desire in advertising the number one thing that my mind goes to is like when Wendy would clap back at people on Twitter but I think

a really good way to tap into this human desire is to actually ask yourself the question who is the enemy the enemy can come in all different shapes and sizes right but if you name the enemy me like hangovers and position you're ad like this this actually is tapping in a little bit into that Vengeance desire right because you're naming the enemy I found another really great example of this actually when I was watching Alex Garcia's recent real about mudwater and what's interesting is mudwater the brand actually made coffee the enemy right and position their

entire brand around that sword of Vengeance so that's all 16 of the human desires but unsurprisingly right there are some that are more common in advertising than others in fact there are five that I find to be the most effective on meta ads and if you're not really sure where to start these five are probably going to be the first places that you're going to want to try for your brand as long as it's really applicable to your audience things unsurprisingly like romance and family social connection and acceptance and of course power now the number

one question that I get when I talk about the human desires is okay which human desire is right for my brand or for this industry I think that some people automatically discount some desires when they shouldn't they just need to think a little bit more creatively about it so for everyone who comments on this YouTube video I promise to respond with the human desires that I think would be best for your brand now my POV on this is again the answer isn't immediately obvious it depends a ton on your audience your product and the emotional

triggers that resonate the most with your customer so let's break this down into a simple process that you can use number one think about your ideal customer and think about what stage of Life they're in what are the challenges or goals that are top of mind right now for example if you're selling fitness equipment right they're probably going to Value power or physical activity and if you're selling jewelry acceptance or romance is probably going to be a little bit more relevant the next question you should ask yourself is what emotional outcome does my product deliver

is it about creating a sense of belonging ultimately offering peace of mind helping someone stand out all of these outcomes are tied directly to the core human desires and ultimately this is where the magic happens do not be afraid to think outside the box for example if you're running ads for a coffee subscription you might just think that it's all about eating but you could frame it around social connection like habit tea and showcase drinking tea with friends or getting to know people on a deeper level or even Tranquility by showing it more as a

morning ritual and of course tools like chat GB can make brainstorming and this process even easier you can simply describe your product and ask check gbt which human desire they think is going to be most impactful for your audience or you can go even further by uploading a CSV of your reviews and asking which of the 16 human desires would be most effective in an advertisement all right that's it if you found this helpful be sure to hit subscribe and follow me so that I can show you even more ways to make money with your

advertising I'll see you next week bye