The spot opens with a montage of famous historical paintings—Raphael’s The School of Athens, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and more. Each scene highlights great minds of history struggling to take notes. A title card declares: “Note-taking has always been… stressful.” The ad then asks, “What if there was a better way?” We cut to a modern-day office, where a user in a meeting gets a Notion AI pop-up. With one click, the tool transcribes the conversation, analyzes it, and generates a clean summary with key takeaways—effortlessly solving a problem that has plagued people for centuries.
The Formula (That Works at Any Budget)
Painful truth = The timeless pain of note-taking.
By reframing note-taking as not just a modern hassle but an ancient, universal struggle, the ad instantly elevates a mundane task into something epic.
→ Lesson: Recast small frustrations as age-old battles to make your solution feel revolutionary.
Historical hyperbole = Famous paintings as user personas.
Rather than showing office workers, the ad uses grand classical art to embody the chaos of manual notes. Philosophers and Founding Fathers become the “before” state.
→ Lesson: Use bold, unexpected visuals to dramatize your customer’s pain point.
The one-click solution = AI as a magic button.
Complex AI processes—transcription, analysis, summarization—are boiled down to a single, satisfying click. The focus is entirely on the effortless outcome.
→ Lesson: When selling AI, hide the complexity and highlight the simplicity of results.
Humor Breakdown
The humor is witty and intellectual. The contrast between historic, monumental scenes and the trivial frustration of note-taking creates a clever inside joke. It’s not slapstick—it’s a sophisticated visual gag that plays to an audience that enjoys subtle, smart humor.
→ Lesson: Use clever juxtapositions and historical references to create humor that flatters your audience’s intelligence.
Final Verdict
Notion takes a universal frustration and reframes it as an age-old problem, then positions its AI as the definitive solution. The execution is elegant, the demonstration is crystal clear, and the idea gives weight to what could otherwise feel like a small feature. It’s a witty, memorable way to make software feel not just useful, but historically important.
BRAVE-o-meter Score:
B-8 | R-8 | A-9 | V-9 | E-8
BRAVE – 8.4/10
Watch the full ad & learn more:
Website: Notion.so
LinkedIn: Notion on LinkedIn
