Every week, Amárach and Future Proof Insights share exclusive findings from their PRIZM+ ad testing service, showcasing best practice creative advertising in Ireland.

He’s there when you least want him. Watching from the corner of the kitchen. Slamming on the pub window like a ghost only you can see. Whispering in your ear on the top deck of a bus.

It's your nicotine habit, embodied and emboldened in the HSE’s Take Back Control quit smoking campaign.

However, crucially, in this creative, this shadowy figure, the personification of addiction, doesn’t win.

This ad isn’t dramatic for drama’s sake.

It’s psychologically calibrated. It uses tension rather than trauma, suggestion over exposition.

The neuroscience shows that this approach works.

Engagement remains steady across the spot, especially in scenes of quiet conflict.

Emotion builds as the character withdraws from the ‘man in black’, the moment on the bus, in particular, elicits a marked peak.

The audience isn’t just observing, they’re projecting, mentally stepping into the shoes of the protagonist.

This kind of identification makes the viewing experience more personal, as viewers simulate the character’s thoughts and feelings. It’s not a passive experience; it requires active, emotional engagement.

What’s happening here is a textbook case of empathic simulation, a cognitive effect where viewers mentally place themselves in the protagonist’s shoes.

When done right, it deepens both attention and emotional resonance.

Rather than telling us how to feel, it lets us interpret the signals, body language, facial expression, and subtle cues in the sound design to vicariously navigate the protagonist's experience.

This also taps into conceptual closure, a process where the brain experiences reward when it successfully pieces together a narrative.

Viewers intuitively infer that the man in black is a metaphor. That the tension isn’t external, but internal.

Cognitive Load rises just enough during these moments to keep the viewer thinking without overwhelming them.

This is crucial, that friction is the audience piecing the puzzle together.

It’s in that small window when the brain is solving a puzzle but hasn’t yet locked the answer, that learning happens most effectively.

But what’s clever is how the ad turns discomfort into momentum.

As the character marks his 28th day smoke-free, Desire lifts.

Viewers want what he’s achieved. That’s goal contagion in action, seeing someone else complete a goal makes us more likely to pursue it ourselves.

Even if the goal is difficult. Even if we’ve failed before.

And yet, this neural choreography holds together surprisingly well despite one weaker point, the ending.

The ending doesn't hit as hard as it could from a recall perspective.

The brand and call to action arrive too late, after the emotional resolution has already landed. But the work is done by then.

The central metaphor, the nagging presence of addiction, has been so effectively conveyed, so deeply felt, that the ad's core idea is already cemented.

Viewers understand the battle. They feel the victory. So even though the closing scene may not perform as effectively as the rest of the creative, the behavioural message remains strong.

If refinement is needed, it’s here. But crucially, the ad succeeds in spite of it, which goes against the grain of what we often see in advertising.

Many campaigns hold back the brand or core message until the final seconds, chasing that cinematic 'ta-daa' moment.

But this can sometimes leave too much heavy lifting to the end.

In contrast, some of the best performing ads in our database anchor the brand or behavioural idea early, embedding it within the core creative concept from the outset.

The HSE ad falls somewhere in between.

It doesn’t lead with the call to action, but it plants the seed of the concept early and cultivates it through the metaphor.

By the time the final scene appears, the viewer has already internalised what’s at stake and why it matters. 

In terms of our behavioural analysis, the COM-B framework reinforces the story told by the brain.

Motivation is the ad’s clear strength, especially reflective motivation linked to regaining control, autonomy, and breaking free from dependence.

Capability is also strong. Viewers understand what they’re being asked to do and why it matters, which is no small feat given the deeply personal and often stigmatised nature of smoking addiction.

But Opportunity emerges as the softer note, underperforming slightly.

This may reflect a lack of perceived social or environmental support.

Many people know why they should quit. They even believe they can. But they don’t always believe they will, or that their life will allow them to.

In this case, the isolated, individual nature of the ad means viewers may be inclined to associate quitting as something done alone, not together.

An insight that we assume was part of the brief, leading to this execution.

The brilliance of this campaign is in how it makes the internal visible.

We don’t need to name the man in black. We already know who he is. The threat he poses. The weight he carries.

But the final shot is what lingers, not the pressure, but the power. Control reclaimed. Window closed. Behaviour changed. And this time, the door stays shut.

For more insights from PRIZM+ on how neuroscience drives advertising impact, visit: https://www.futureproofinsights.ie/prizm-plus/