Powerful Posters: the element of surprise

By Philippa Stanners, Senior Research & Insight Manager & David Hill, Executive Producer

Picture this... It’s your birthday, and a loved one hands you a bouquet of flowers or a box of artisanal chocolates. Lovely, right? You smile, thank them, and maybe even snap a photo for Instagram. It’s sweet, but let’s be honest - you saw it coming. Now imagine this... It’s a random Tuesday, you’ve had a fairly average day, you get home, kick off your shoes, and suddenly—wow!—someone hands you the same gift. No occasion. No warning. No national flower-giving holiday or world chocolate day in sight. Your first reaction? Pure delight. Or, depending on the person, maybe even: What did you do? 

Either way, surprise is the game-changer. It amplifies emotion, making the moment more memorable, more special, and far more likely to stick in your mind. 

The same goes for advertising. When something appears exactly when and where you expect it, it’s nice—but easy to forget. But when an ad catches you off guard, disrupts your expectations, and delivers something fresh? That’s when it sticks. That’s when it matters. 

Our study into creating Powerful Posters has led us to guide advertisers to keep it Simple, Sensible, Striking and Succinct. However, while exploring the emotions conjured up by creative outdoor solutions, there’s a 5^th ‘S’ brands should consider… Surprise! 

Sir John Hegarty, one of the most influential figures in the advertising industry, once said, "The most powerful thing you can do in advertising is to surprise people." And nothing sparks surprise quite like an OOH special build. In fact, special builds are 38% more likely to evoke surprise compared to an average TV, print, and standard OOH ad*. 

^{Ben & Jerrys, one of 10 specials build feature in the System1 research study mentioned above} 

Surprise is an emotion intensifier 

But why should surprise be the desired outcome? Tania Lunia, a psychology researcher and author, says "the power of surprise is that it pulls us out of autopilot and makes us pay attention". In a world of mundane commutes and overstimulated minds, delivering cut-through to consumers is key. 

Surprise also acts as an emotion intensifier, and studies show how surprise can amplify them by approximately 400%. 

This was proven to the be the case for a recent Asahi OOH campaign, where the special build element of the campaign elicited stronger positive emotions (+79% vs +57% for standard OOH) while the complimenting standard OOH was used to drive frequency and build momentum. 

Surprise builds mental availability 

Mental availability is the marketer’s holy grail - the ease with which a brand comes to mind in a buying moment and neuroscience reveals that surprise plays a key role in enhancing it. Here’s what’s happening in our brains when we encounter something unexpected: 

1. Attention - Our brains are hardwired to notice the unusual or novel, which is logical from an evolutionary perspective, so we can react to something dangerous quickly. So when an ad presents something unexpected, it naturally draws our focus. 

2. Emotional Response - The amygdala kicks in, triggering emotions like excitement or fear. The brain quickly decides if the event is thrilling or threatening. 

3. Processing - The prefrontal cortex steps in to analyse the situation. It helps us make sense of the surprise and figure out how to respond. 

4. Reward & Pleasure - If the surprise is a good one, we get a dopamine boost—the brain’s reward chemical. This reinforces the positive feeling of the surprise. It’s the emotion intensifier. 

5. Storing the Memory - The brain compares the surprise to past experiences and stores it as a new memory, helping the brand come to mind in the future. 

In just 1/25th of a second, surprise can shift the brain from noticing to remembering. That’s why standout formats, like special builds, drive a 21% lift in memory encoding. 

Surprise drives social currency & industry exposure  

When something sparks a strong emotional reaction, people want to share it. That’s the foundation of social currency - we post things that earn us likes, comments, and attention. The more surprising or creative a special build is, the more likely it is to be shared, sparking a ripple effect across audiences. Each share brings in new eyeballs, fresh engagement, and wider reach. 

Surprise doesn’t just drive social sharing - it grabs the industry’s attention too. Just look at the Outdoor Media Awards, where categories recognising creativity and special build innovation consistently attract the highest number of submissions year after year. Creative surprise has become a badge of honour, with marketers proudly showcasing standout builds as hero visuals in campaign case studies and award entries. 

Winners from the OMA's will be announced on the 12th of June, so keep your eyes peeled to see which brands in the Installations and Experience category stopped people in their tracks, and took the judges by surprise!

The lasting power of surprise 

Just like a surprise gift on an ordinary Tuesday, the most memorable ads are the ones we don’t expect. They break the routine, spark emotion, and linger in our minds long after we’ve walked past them. In outdoor advertising, surprise isn’t just a nice touch, it’s the difference between being seen and being remembered. 

^{*Sources: System 1 Creative Solution OOH testing, Tania Luna: Surprise, Embrace the Unpredictable and Engineer the Unexpected, Ipsos Thinking outside the billboard}