Big Tech once dreamed of leaving Earth. Productivity tools taught us to never log off. The advertising Agency built itself on chaos and caffeine.
But this week’s lineup isn’t buying the act. These brands step out of the fantasy, expose the theater, and find power in what’s real.
Let’s dig in.
Matthew McConaughey in an astronaut suit, orchestral music swelling and just when you think we’re going to space, he shrugs: “Ehhh.” The rocket never leaves. Instead, he floats above Earth in a hot-air balloon, reminding us to plant trees and fix the planet we actually have.
Why it works: The biggest show in tech right now is the escape fantasy. Billionaires racing to Mars. Digital universes no one asked for. It’s a trillion-dollar magic trick built on avoiding reality. Salesforce pulls a perfect judo move by refusing to play. Staying grounded becomes the boldest stance of all.
Killer detail: “So while the others look to the metaverse and Mars, let’s stay here and restore ours.” Not a jab, a knockout.
Takeaway: Find the fantasy your competitors are selling. Then flip it. Make reality the hero again.
What “escape fantasy” is your industry selling to avoid fixing the real problem?
We open on a familiar ritual: someone holding their phone to the sky, begging for a bar of Wi-Fi. Then the camera cuts to forests, cliffs, mountaintops, all the places ideas actually strike.
Why it works: Every productivity tool sells the same sermon:
always on, always connected. Notion calls it out for what it actually is, a creative chokehold. By turning “offline mode” into a declaration of freedom, they sell disconnection as power.
Killer detail: That glowing Wi-Fi icon above the user’s head, flickering like a reluctant halo. One frame, total truth.
Takeaway: Every industry has an invisible leash it pretends is normal. Cut it. True freedom isn’t a better internet connection, it’s not needing one.
What “signal-searching” ritual is your industry forcing on customers?
In a lush, 1960s Technicolor world, one man is poolside with his phone in hand, laptop in lap, drowning in work and actual water. Across the pool, a serene woman floats by with a martini, utterly unbothered.
Why it works: The ad industry still glorifies chaos like it’s character. All-nighters. Spreadsheet hell. “We suffer for the craft.” Basis kills that myth with a smile. Calm is the new flex.
Killer detail: The two-second cut from panic to poise, frantic man gasping for air to a woman lowering sunglasses in victory.
Takeaway: Call out the badge of honor your audience secretly hates. Then make ease the new ambition.
What “badge of honor” in your industry is really a cry for help?
The Office cast is back, but this time, they’re running a startup. Rainn Wilson plays a self-proclaimed visionary launching Sleep with Rainn, a smart pillow that whispers him to you. The launch is chaos: the team’s clueless, the Wi-Fi dies, the dream collapses. Until one employee quietly saves the day with AT&T’s internet backup.
Why it works: AT&T doesn’t sell the dream. They sell the thing that keeps the dream alive. While the world worships disruption, they remind everyone that nothing works without the boring stuff that works. Reliability becomes rebellion.
Killer detail: Kate Flannery deadpanning, “I don’t care about the pillow. I’m just here for the internet.” The startup myth, punctured in one line.
Takeaway: Let everyone else perform genius. Be the infrastructure that quietly makes it possible.
What “world-changing vision” is your industry chasing while ignoring the everyday breakdowns?
A small-business owner bursts into FedEx Office, trailing a literal flock of ducks. Chaos. Feathers. Panic. The FedEx employee barely hides a smirk. “Ducks in a row?”
Why it works: The “effortless entrepreneur” is a myth. Most small business owners live one coffee away from collapse. FedEx nails the absurd truth by making a cliché come alive and then calmly solving it. They don’t mock the chaos; they manage it.
Killer detail: The deadpan delivery of “Ducks in a row?” lands first, not last. The punchline becomes the premise.
Takeaway: Every industry has a phrase that hides a pain. Turn it into a scene, make it funny, then fix it.
What business cliché perfectly describes your customers’ chaos?
The Bigger Picture
Here’s the pattern across all five:
Salesforce rejected the escape fantasy.
Notion rejected the connectivity cult.
Basis rejected burnout as identity.
AT&T rejected startup theater.
FedEx rejected the myth of control.
Each one wins by refusing to perform.
They don’t chase the future. They fix the present.
They don’t describe the world, they dramatize what’s wrong with it, then calmly deliver the cure.
Mantra: When everyone else is trying to leave reality, make yours irresistible.
Try This Next Week
What fantasy could your brand refuse to play along with?
What invisible rule could you break and make human again?
What hustle myth needs a punchline?
What cliché could you turn literal, feathers and all?
How can you make “real” feel revolutionary?
That’s a wrap on this week’s breakdowns. The big takeaway?
When the world is obsessed with escape, be the brand that stays.
Need more examples? Our B2B Ads Library has plenty of examples of brands breaking away from the mold: https://blackcamel.agency/b2b-video-ads-library/
Catch you next time!
Black Camel Agency
Regan George | [email protected]
P.S. Seen a campaign that refuses to play along? Send it my way. If it’s Brave enough, it might make our next newsletter.