

Interview: Orlando Wood, author of Lemon and Look Out, on why showmanship beats salesmanship
Sep 24, 2025
Orlando Wood, Chief Innovation Officer at System1 and author of 'Lemon and Look Out,' dives into the art of advertising. He explains why today’s ads struggle to engage and how showmanship can outshine salesmanship. Wood emphasizes the emotional power of humor and connection, revealing that ads that resonate emotionally can achieve commercial success. He also discusses the importance of leaving space for audience engagement and the impact of nostalgia in branding. His insights challenge brands to create more captivating and memorable advertising.
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Childhood Ad Memories Sparked His Interest
- Orlando remembers quoting and laughing about TV ads with his dad, which sparked his lifelong interest in advertising.
- That early emotional bonding shaped his view that advertising should entertain and reward attention.
Two Schools Of Advertising
- Advertising has two enduring schools: showmanship (broad, creative, attention-grabbing) and salesmanship (narrow, factual, conversion-focused).
- Both are necessary and complementary, but showmanship builds lasting preference and makes salesmanship more efficient.
Right vs Left Attention In Ads
- Right-hemisphere attention (broad, narrative, music, people) maps to showmanship while left-hemisphere attention (narrow, literal, language) maps to salesmanship.
- This neural framing explains why emotionally rich, narrative ads create lasting memory and preference.