How To Make Magic Ads With Daniel Harmon
Poo~Pourri, Squatty Potty, Murphy Ladders, Camp Chef, Purple... the list of advertising successes to come out of the demented minds of Harmon Brothers m...
Poo~Pourri, Squatty Potty, Murphy Ladders, Camp Chef, Purple... the list of advertising successes to come out of the demented minds of Harmon Brothers may lead you to think they have the Midas touch, after all, everything they touch seems to turn to gold. Yes, even poop.
Here's the thing nobody tells you about advertising: nobody wakes up wanting to watch an ad. Not one person. Not ever. You've got maybe three seconds before a thumb flicks past you like you're a bug on a windshield. So the ads that actually work, the ones that get shared, quoted, rewatched, and turned into cultural moments, aren't the ones that scream loudest about features and benefits. They're the ones that tell a story so good people forget they're being sold to. That's the whole game. Humor, tension, a hook, a payoff. You're not competing with other toilet spray commercials. You're competing with cat videos and your customer's ex's vacation photos. Story wins that fight every time.
That's exactly the territory Harmon Brothers has owned for years, and it's why I wanted Daniel on the show.
What's the secret sauce to make magic ads that turn poop into gold? Check out this conversation with Daniel Harmon on our founder's podcast, EntreGrow.
About Our Guest
As co-founder and creative visionary at Harmon Brothers, Daniel uses storytelling, humor, and structure to create social videos that sell products. He's helped create groundbreaking ads that have collectively driven more than 1.4 billion views, over $350 million in sales, and revolutionized the way products are marketed. His portfolio includes internet advertising blockbusters Squatty Potty, Purple, Chatbooks, FiberFix, Lume, Camp Chef, and Poo~Pourri.
I've been doing this 40 years. I've watched every "next big thing" in advertising come and go. But storytelling isn't a trend, it's the one thing that's worked since cavemen were drawing on walls, and it's still what separates an ad people mute from an ad people send to five friends. Daniel and his brothers didn't just get lucky seven times in a row. There's a system behind it. Listen to the episode and hear it straight from him.
Resources & Links From This Episode
Camp Chef Woodwind ad Poo-Pourri ad Purple Mattress ad Squatty Potty ad
Connect with Daniel
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/danielharmon www.harmonbrothers.com
Don't just read the show notes, go listen to the whole thing. Some conversations you skim. This one you sit with.
Frequently Asked Questions
Daniel Harmon's ads have collectively driven over 1.4 billion views and more than $350 million in sales. His portfolio includes viral advertising hits like Squatty Potty, Poo~Pourri, Purple Mattress, Chatbooks, FiberFix, Lume, and Camp Chef.
Nobody wakes up wanting to watch an ad, and you've got maybe three seconds before people scroll past. The ads that actually work tell a story so good people forget they're being sold to—because you're not competing with other product commercials, you're competing with cat videos and people's ex's vacation photos.
According to Ken, Daniel and his brothers didn't just get lucky seven times in a row—there's an actual system behind their storytelling approach. The episode breaks down that system using humor, tension, hooks, and payoffs to create ads that get shared and rewatched.
Harmon Brothers ads use storytelling, humor, and structure to create social videos that turn into cultural moments instead of screaming about features and benefits. They focus on creating content so entertaining that people forget they're being sold to and actually share it with friends.
