It’s easy to assume that using people and faces in ads would help to sell a product or drive views to a site. After all, using specific expressions and showing different emotions can help bring a sense of reliability to consumers at home. It’s been noted across studies, however, that using faces in ads can actually be less successful than an ad without a face.
That theory was put to the test in a recent business venture involving Ryan Reynolds.
Reynolds, who is Chief Creative Officer of MNTN, partnered with the Customer Success Specialist of MNTN, Imani Clark, to test ads and see if his recognizable mug helped to drive site views or if an advertisement without his face would perform better. The company uploaded two ads, one starring Reynolds and one only narrated by him, no visuals of his face included. They then tracked the ads to see which produced a better outcome for the company.
Imani tells Reynolds that in a surprising twist, the ad without his face actually performs better. Unsurprisingly, he responds in a comedic manner and says it’s just “crushing news” for him to hear.
Imani explains the numbers and statistics between the two ads, showing that the one narrated by him brought in 117% more site visits. She tells him that he made an ad that’s working, no matter what, and that it must feel pretty nice to have done that.
In our humble opinion, nothing with Ryan Reynolds involved is a waste of cash at all, especially when it concerns his face — and we think many people would agree.