advertisingbrand strategyconsumer behavior

How Brands’ Tarot-Style Ads (Like Netflix) Affect What You Buy

rrecommending

2026-01-26

9 min read

Learn how tarot-style story ads (like Netflix’s) shape purchase intent—and get a practical checklist to shop smarter and avoid impulsive buys in 2026.

You’re overwhelmed by ads—and that’s exactly the point

Decision fatigue, conflicting reviews, and a flood of creative campaigns make buying harder in 2026. You see a dramatic, tarot-style film from Netflix on social feeds, feel something stir, and suddenly a show, product, or subscription looks irresistible. That emotional nudge is powerful—but it can also steer you away from what actually fits your needs. This guide breaks down how narrative brand ads (like Netflix’s 2026 "What Next" tarot campaign) influence purchase intent, and gives you practical, research-backed steps to use storytelling to your advantage—without getting manipulated.

The shift in creative ads in 2025–2026: why narrative campaigns dominate

Late 2025 and early 2026 cemented a trend that started years earlier: brands are investing in long-form, cinematic storytelling and cross-channel sagas. These aren’t traditional product pitches. They’re serialized narratives, immersive hubs, interactive quizzes, and experiential stunts that blend entertainment with advertising. Netflix’s tarot-themed "What Next" campaign—deployed across 34 markets and amplified with a dedicated "Discover Your Future" hub—demonstrates the scale and polish of this shift. The campaign reportedly generated 104 million owned social impressions and drove Tudum to a record traffic day, showing how creative ads convert attention into measurable engagement.

Netflix’s “What Next” campaign alone produced 104 million owned social impressions and helped Tudum reach 2.5M visits on launch day.

Why this matters to shoppers in 2026: storytelling is no longer a branding side-effect. It’s a primary conversion channel. Stories increase ad recall, emotional attachment, and the likelihood that you’ll explore or buy—especially when ads are tailored with AI-driven personalization, shoppable video, and augmented reality try-ons that proliferated in 2025.

How narrative ads influence your brain (the psychology that marketers use)

Understanding the psychological mechanics helps you spot influence tactics and decide when to lean into them. Here are the major effects creative campaigns exploit:

Narrative transportation: When you become absorbed in a story, you lower your critical defenses and adopt the attitudes presented. That increases goodwill toward the brand and product.
Emotional conditioning: Emotions tied to characters or scenes (nostalgia, curiosity, awe) transfer to the product—an effect advertisers use to attach feeling to otherwise utilitarian buys.
Associative memory: Repeated motifs, characters, or audio hooks make brands more accessible in your mind when you later shop.
Social proof & virality: Earned press, creator partnerships, and user-generated responses function as third-party validation—boosting trust even when the content is engineered.
Anchoring and framing: Creative ads often frame a product within a lifestyle that changes perceived value. A simple $20 jumper can feel premium when it appears in a cinematic scene.

Case study: What the Netflix tarot approach teaches us

Netflix’s early-2026 tarot campaign mixed spectacle (a lifelike animatronic hostess), a content hub, and global localization to create a narrative ritual. It didn’t focus on one title—it created a cultural moment centered on curiosity about what’s next. The result: huge owned and earned impressions, massive In-Platform traffic, and widespread social conversation. For consumers, that means two things:

Story-driven campaigns can prime you to explore a service or product category—even when the ad doesn’t make a hard product claim.
Campaign hubs and interactive experiences provide useful signals: high-quality storytelling often correlates with strong creative investment, which brands back with distribution and merchandising.

But: engagement metrics (impressions, visits) don’t equal product quality. Use them as a discovery signal, not a purchase justification.

How to turn creative ads into smart purchase decisions: a 7-step consumer checklist

Use this checklist when a narrative ad sparks your interest. It balances quick heuristics with deeper verification steps.

Identify the emotional pitch: What feeling is the ad selling (comfort, excitement, status)? Write it down. If the feeling outweighs product facts in your decision, pause.
Separate story from claims: Ask: Does the ad make an explicit product claim (battery life, material, size, compatibility)? If not, hunt for the facts on the product page or spec sheet.
Check third-party validation: Look for reviews on independent sites, not just brand testimonials. Prioritize recent reviews (last 12 months) for product updates common in 2025–2026 cycles.
Use a 24–48 hour cool-off: For non-urgent buys, wait. Narrative ads excel at impulsive emotion; a short pause reduces regret.
Compare price and value: Use price trackers and set alerts. Shoppable videos and interactive ads often include exclusive limited-time bundles—verify whether those bundles are truly a deal. Quick tools and workflows to find legitimate deals are summarized in our Tools Roundup.
Search for user-generated evidence: Social posts with real use-cases are more telling than polished brand assets. Look for videos that focus on product function rather than story. Also check community discovery channels like Bluesky LIVE badges and similar hubs for firsthand posts.
Guard personal data: Many narrative campaigns in 2025–26 used first-party signals and personalized creative. Consider privacy before interacting with quizzes or AR try-ons that require personal info.

Quick tactics: 5 ways to fact-check a storytelling ad in under 10 minutes

Open the brand’s product page and scan specs. If the ad emphasizes an attribute, can you find measurable evidence?
Search "brand + problem + review" (e.g., "brand X durability review") to find issue-focused feedback.
Use browser extensions or price-tracker sites to see historical pricing and deal legitimacy. See the Tools Roundup for quick extensions.
Check creator disclosure and ad labels—if it’s a paid partnership, expect bias; treat influencer praise as an indicator, not proof. Platform monetization shifts and disclosure rules (e.g., for creators) are summarized in our YouTube monetization briefing.
Look at community hubs (Reddit, product-focused forums) for hands-on troubleshooting and real-world pros/cons.

How creative campaigns change purchase intent metrics (what marketers measure)

Marketers track outcomes differently when campaigns are narrative-heavy. Common metrics include:

Brand salience and recall: Story arcs and recurring characters boost ad recall and top-of-mind awareness.
Engagement depth: Time spent on interactive hubs or shoppable video completion rates.
Search and exploration lift: Increases in branded search queries, site visits, and content hub traffic (like Tudum’s spike).
Conversion funnel shifts: Narrative campaigns often widen the top funnel—driving exploration—so marketers track downstream conversion rates and cohort behavior.
Earned media and social lift: The volume and sentiment of press and creator responses, which amplify reach without direct spend.

What that means for individual buyers

Even if a campaign inflates brand metrics, individual purchase decisions require product-level validation. Treat narrative-driven interest as a discovery mechanism: great for locating options, weak as a substitute for product research.

Advanced strategies: how to use creative ads as a research advantage

If you want to turn storytelling into a research shortcut, follow these advanced steps:

Reverse engineer the campaign: Identify the product categories the narrative highlights. Use that to narrow your search terms (e.g., "luxury running shoes" vs. "brand X shoes"). For creators and teams building narrative-first discovery, see the Creator Synopsis Playbook.
Map the ecosystem: Creative campaigns usually launch with partners—merchants, influencers, and platform integrations. Track partner mentions to find bundles, exclusive deals, or useful debunking content.
Leverage campaign hubs: Brands often publish specs, FAQs, and merchandising links inside campaign microsites. Use those links to quickly compare SKUs and pricing across retailers.
Use A/B exposure for big buys: If you’re deciding between two options inspired by different ads, split attention between the ad-first exploration of each option and measure which one you research further without marketing influence.
Tap differentiated content: Look for post-launch behind-the-scenes or product explainers from the brand—that’s where factual claims are often clarified.

2026 trends to watch—and how they change your shopping checklist

As we move further into 2026, several trends will alter how creative ads affect buyers. Here’s how to adapt:

AI-personalized narratives: Ads tailored to your behavior will feel eerily relevant. Counter: clear data hygiene—don’t give more personal info than necessary to interactive experiences. See broader AI-personalization notes in AI-Driven Deal Matching & Localized Bundles.
Shoppable storytelling: Interactive videos let you buy inside the narrative. Counter: compare cart items to independent prices before checking out. Low-latency commerce playbooks are useful if you expect in-video checkout flows: Low-Latency Live Commerce.
Deepfake realism & animatronics: More lifelike creatives raise emotional traction. Counter: prioritize evidence and product testing over star power or spectacle.
Regulatory changes and transparency: Expect stricter ad-labeling and influencer disclosure laws in many markets—use disclosures as a quick gauge of credibility. Platform policy changes for creators (including monetization and disclosure) are summarized in this update.
Cross-channel saga campaigns: Stories that span streaming, social, OOH, and in-store experiences will become common. Counter: build a single comparison document (specs, price, reviews) to keep decisions grounded. For creator-led distribution signals and micro-formats, see the Creator Synopsis Playbook.

Red flags: when a narrative ad should lower your trust

Not all creative ads are manipulative, but some tactics should make you cautious:

Fuzzy claims: Ads that rely solely on emotion without measurable product claims.
Selective review quoting: Brands highlighting only five-star comments or anonymous testimonials.
Urgency without transparency: Time-limited bundles that obscure product origin or return terms.
Excessive personalization: Ads that reference disallowed sensitive categories or overreach into private data.

Putting it into practice: a mini workout for your next ad-driven purchase

Follow these three quick actions the next time a creative ad nudges you:

Pause for 15 minutes and identify what emotion the ad creates.
Open a product comparison sheet and list two independent reviews and one negative comment about the exact model you’re considering.
Set a price alert and revisit after 48 hours—if you still prefer it and the specs match your needs, buy with confidence. Use quick deal tools from the Tools Roundup to set alerts.

Final takeaway: use stories to discover, not decide

Creative campaigns like Netflix’s tarot initiative show how powerful storytelling can be at getting you to notice, care, and explore. In 2026, those narratives will only get richer and more personalized. Your job as a shopper is simple: let stories guide discovery, but make purchase decisions based on facts, independent reviews, and clear value comparisons. When you blend the emotional intelligence that stories provide with the practical rigor of product research, you get the best of both worlds.

Call to action

Ready to shop smarter? Use our free 7-point ad-checklist on every narrative-driven buy: identify the emotional pitch, verify product claims, check independent reviews, and set a 48-hour cool-off. Sign up for our weekly brief to get practical checklists and deal alerts tailored to the creative campaigns that catch your eye.

recommending

Contributor

Senior editor and content strategist. Writing about technology, design, and the future of digital media. Follow along for deep dives into the industry's moving parts.