Monday Memo

A Byte of Knowledge

Williams-Sonoma nearly doubled bread maker sales in the early '90s. They didn't lower the price. Didn't redesign the product.

They just put something else next to it.

The original was $275 and collecting dust. So they introduced a second model priced at $429.

That expensive version barely sold. It was never supposed to.

It existed merely to make the $275 look like a bargain.

And it worked like crazy.

Why?

Because our brains are terrible at judging anything in isolation.

We process everything through contrast.

Just go stick your hand in ice water for 30 seconds...

Then dip it in a lukewarm bowl.

That lukewarm water feels HOT.

Same water it's always been.

But your brain measures it against what came before. Can't help itself.

So next time something's not selling, don't immediately change the offer.

Change what's sitting next to it.

🚀 Whether you're selling a $50 supplements or a $10,000 coaching program – having these 5 'Copy Blocks' on your landing page could be the difference between crickets and an avalanche of cash flow.

Discover All 5 'Copy Blocks' Now

Something to Ponder

We Asked – AI Answered

Our Question: 

“Why do mass-market brands like Gap and Old Navy often use smiling models, while luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Gucci tend to use more serious, ‘cold’ expressions?”

AI's Answer: The Smile Gap: Why Luxury Brands Won't Grin 🧊

The facial expression on a model...aesthetic choice? No, it's a pricing signal encoded in muscle movements — and the science behind it explains why some brands print money while others hemorrhage margin.

🧠 The Warmth vs. Competence Tradeoff

Social psychologist Susan Fiske (Princeton) identified two fundamental dimensions the human brain uses to evaluate everything: warmth and competence.

→ Smiling dramatically increases perceived warmth — but can decrease perceived dominance and status

→ Neutral/serious expressions increase perceived competence, power, and exclusivity

Mass-market and luxury brands are playing completely different games:

👑 The Veblen Effect: Scarcity as Currency

Economist Thorstein Veblen nailed this in 1899 with The Theory of the Leisure Class. Luxury goods — now called "Veblen goods" — increase in desirability as price rises. They exist to signal status, not to serve the most customers.

A smiling model says: "Come on in, everyone's welcome!"

That's the death sentence for luxury positioning. Exclusivity requires friction. Distance. Psychological barriers that make earning entry feel like an achievement. Every warm, approachable face erodes the perception that this product is for the few. 🚫😊

🔬 The Pride Display Research

Jessica Tracy at the University of British Columbia studied how humans perceive pride displays across cultures. Her findings were sharp:

• Expanded posture + slight head tilt → signals achievement and high status
• Broad, open grin → signals appeasement and affiliation (lower dominance)

This maps directly onto primate behavior. In dominance hierarchies, baring teeth with a wide smile is a submission signal. The alpha doesn't grin — subordinates do. Luxury creative directors figured this out decades before the peer-reviewed papers caught up.

A cold stare communicates: "I don't need your approval." That IS high status.

Meanwhile, mass-market brands NEED your approval. They're volume businesses. Every smile says: "Please like us. Please buy. Please come back Tuesday."

💰 The Unit Economics Underneath

Old Navy needs to move 50 million units at $25. Strategy: minimize friction, maximize welcome. Smiling models lower psychological barriers to purchase. You want the customer to feel zero hesitation.

Louis Vuitton needs to move 500,000 units at $2,500. Strategy: maximize perceived value through social distance. Serious faces create aspiration gaps — the emotional space between who you are and who you want to become.

That gap is where luxury margins live. 📈

🎯 The Takeaway for Your Brand

Ask yourself one question:

Am I selling belonging or aspiration?

• 🏠 Belonging brands (affordable, high-volume): Use warmth. Smiles. Approachability. You're lowering the drawbridge and welcoming the masses in.
• 🏰 Aspiration brands (premium, low-volume): Use distance. Seriousness. Mystery. You're raising the drawbridge and making people prove they deserve entry.

The fatal mistake? Mixing them up. A luxury brand that grins looks desperate. A mass-market brand that scowls looks confused. Both bleed customers.

Your model's expression is your entire pricing strategy compressed into a single face. 🎭

Thanks for reading the Monday Memo.

Until next time!

The AI Marketers

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