Guide · Framework
A complete framework for analyzing what your competitors emotionally promise. Every DTC ad scores across 15 emotional dimensions on a 1-10 scale. Here's what each dimension means, which brands lean on each, and how to use this for creative strategy.
Updated May 2026 · 12 min read
Self-worth, feeling valued and attractive.
The most universal emotional driver in DTC fashion + beauty. The ad's promise is that buying this product reinforces your sense of self-worth. SKIMS scores high on esteem because the brand explicitly positions itself as celebrating different body types. Glossier uses peer-friend framing that affirms the viewer's natural look.
High esteem brands: SKIMS, Glossier, Fenty Beauty, Rare Beauty, Spanx.
Feeling capable and in control.
Dominant in fitness, athleisure, and women-led wellness brands. The ad's promise is that you'll feel more capable after using the product. Gymshark and Lululemon lead on empowerment — strength and capability framing. Whoop and Oura Ring use empowerment through self-knowledge ("you can finally optimize your sleep").
High empowerment brands: Gymshark, Lululemon, Vuori, Alo Yoga, Whoop, Oura Ring, Fabletics.
Care, comfort, warmth.
Pet brands score highest. Chewy's entire creative is built on the owner-pet emotional bond. Beauty brands also lean on nurturance through skincare-as-self-care framing. Home brands like Casper and Brooklinen emphasize comfort.
High nurturance brands: Chewy, Glossier, Calm, Headspace, Casper, Brooklinen, Bombas.
Safety, trust, reliability.
Dominant in wellness, supplements, and health DTC. The ad's promise is "this is safe to put in your body / use on your body." Trust signals like clinical claims, doctor endorsements, and ingredient transparency boost security scores. AG1 leans on security through its ingredient list. Nutrafol through clinical study citations.
High security brands: AG1, Huel, Nutrafol, Hims, Soylent, Curology, The Ordinary.
Interest, attention, involvement.
Beverage brands win on engagement because category-disruption + humor live here. Liquid Death scores extremely high on engagement — the entire creative strategy is engineered for shareability. Dr. Squatch uses humor to drive engagement.
High engagement brands: Liquid Death, Dr. Squatch, Poppi, Olipop, Mud WTR.
Social connection, fitting in.
Lifestyle brands lean on belonging through community framing. Lululemon's wellness-community positioning. Pet brands use belonging through "join the [brand] family." Apps like Headspace and Calm reference user community size.
High belonging brands: Lululemon, Chewy, Bombas (mission-driven), Liquid Death (cult brand), Calm.
Wonder, desire to know more.
The "what is this?" reaction. Wearable tech and category-disruptor brands score high. Oura Ring and Whoop use curiosity through data visualization ("here's what your body is doing right now"). Marketplace brands use curiosity through product variety.
High curiosity brands: Oura Ring, Whoop, Liquid Death, Olipop, Temu, Mud WTR.
Mastery, skill, capability.
Closely related to empowerment but more skill-specific. The ad promises "you'll be better at X." Footwear brands like Hoka and Allbirds emphasize technical capability of the product. Whoop emphasizes user mastery of recovery + training.
High competence brands: Hoka, Allbirds, Whoop, Oura Ring, Athletic Greens.
Time pressure, scarcity.
Marketplace + retail-style brands lead. Temu and Shein use urgency through countdown timers, limited-time offers, "selling out" messaging. Fashion brands use urgency around drops and seasonal releases. SKIMS uses urgency via "back in stock" reminders.
High urgency brands: Temu, Shein, Fashion Nova, AliExpress, SKIMS (drops).
Sentimental connection to the past.
Underused in DTC. Beverage brands occasionally lean on nostalgia ("the soda you remember"). Most DTC creative skips this dimension entirely.
Notable nostalgia brands: rare; Olipop's "soda but better" positioning has nostalgic undertones.
Anxiety, concern, worry.
Used carefully in health categories. The "what happens if you don't address this" framing. Hair-loss brands, dental, sleep apps. Modern DTC tends to under-index on fear because it can feel manipulative.
Notable fear-leaning brands: Nutrafol (hair loss anxiety), Calm (anxiety naming).
Responsibility, obligation.
Pet brands occasionally lean on guilt ("are you giving your pet the best?"). Mission-driven brands like Bombas use guilt + virtue framing ("buy one, give one"). Generally underused.
Frustration, indignation.
Almost never used directly in DTC. Some brands frame frustration with the status quo ("we're tired of bad shaving razors") but stop short of true anger framing.
Browse individual brand pages to see the emotional profile per brand. The Emotional Profile table on each page shows video vs. image scores, which often reveal interesting strategic decisions.
GoMarble runs the 15-dimension emotional scoring on every ad in the library. Each brand page shows the full profile, video vs. image breakdown, and emotional driver shifts by product line.