How ‘Tangfastics’ Hijacked Your Emotions with Laughter and Surprise—and Why Marketers Can’t Stop Talking About It
Ever wonder why some ads just stick with you while others vanish like smoke? Each week, Amárach and Future Proof Insights pull back the curtain on Ireland’s best creative advertising through their PRIZM+ ad testing service—giving us exclusive peeks at what really clicks with audiences. Take Haribo’s “Tangfastics,” for example: an ad that flips the script by having adults speak in children’s voices, instantly sparking curiosity and a surprising burst of joy. It’s a simple idea—a couple of security guards doing voice flips—but boy, does it tap deep into nostalgia and delight, wrapping up familiar fun in unexpected package. From a neuroscience angle, this playful twist activates the brain’s reward system, delivering dopamine hits that don’t just entertain but cement the brand in memory. And isn’t that what we all want? Ads that don’t just preach but genuinely connect. If you’re looking to crack the code on campaigns that combine clever creativity with real emotional punch, you’re in the right spot.
Every week, Amárach and Future Proof Insights share exclusive findings from their PRIZM+ ad testing service, showcasing best practice creative advertising in Ireland.
Haribo’s “Tangfastics”continues one of the most distinctive and enduring creative platforms in confectionery advertising, adults speaking in children’s voices.
The concept is simple but psychologically powerful: it brings childlike joy into an adult world.
By pairing the mundane setting of a security office with the innocence of children’s voices, the ad perfectly captures Haribo’s brand essence, joy, nostalgia, and playfulness, all wrapped in a moment of shared laughter.
From a neuroscience perspective, the ad triggers what’s known as a rewarding surprise effect, the brain’s positive response to a violation of expectation.
When the guards open their mouths and childlike voices emerge, the viewer’s predictive system is briefly thrown off balance, creating a spike in attention and emotional engagement.
Instead of confusion, the brain experiences a small burst of dopamine, reinforcing enjoyment and memorisation.
As the laughter builds between the two guards, mirror neuron activity likely increases, as viewers unconsciously mirror their smiles and gestures, a social contagion effect that strengthens emotional connection to the brand.
Key Moments That Land
- – 0.05 – The First Line
The ad wastes no time in capturing attention.
The contrast between the serious-looking security guard and the child’s voice is both funny and instantly familiar to Haribo’s fans.
Neural data shows sharp peaks in engagement and memorisation at this moment, followed by a surge in emotion and desire as the Haribo pack appears in close-up.
The brain rewards the resolution of the mismatch between expectation and outcome, a mechanism known as prediction error, which strengthens encoding in memory.
The guards’ shared laughter amplifies this further, with synchronised expressions triggering emotional contagion and warmth.
For marketers, this shows how a familiar creative device, when paired with genuine character interaction, can make surprise feel comforting rather than disruptive.
0.09 – 0.17 – Shared Laughter
As the guards riff on one another’s made-up words, “Tangmazing,” “Fizzy-azing,” “I love my job”, engagement remains consistently high.
Neuroscience suggests that shared laughter and mirrored facial expressions activate empathy circuits, helping viewers “feel” the fun rather than just observe it.
This connection makes the humour inclusive and contagious, reinforcing the product’s emotional positioning.
For marketers, it’s a masterclass in light-touch storytelling, showing, not telling, that keeps energy, warmth, and brand salience high through natural dialogue.
0.17 – 0.20 – End Frame
The final pack shot lands cleanly, giving the brain an easy resolution point after the high-energy exchange.
While engagement stabilises, memorisation remains strong thanks to the clear product framing and the familiar Haribo jingle.
The learning: endings don’t always need to peak emotionally; sometimes it’s enough to give the brain space to consolidate what it has just enjoyed.
Behavioural Impact (COM-B)
The COM-B data (FMCG/Confectionery benchmark) shows strong Capability and Opportunity. Viewers immediately grasp the message and product.
Motivation is driven by emotional response rather than rational persuasion. Audiences feel good about the brand but are less directly prompted to purchase.
This is typical for humour-led campaigns that prioritise joy and recall over call-to-action.
Younger viewers (18–34) respond with higher desire and engagement, while older audiences experience nostalgia and warmth.
The behavioural takeaway: Haribo’s emotional consistency builds brand equity through joy but adding micro-prompts such as “Try Tangfastics today” could bridge emotion to behaviour.
Lessons for Marketers
- Use rewarding surprise: The childlike voice substitution taps into the brain’s reward circuitry by violating expectation in a fun, harmless way. Surprise, when linked to brand identity, strengthens memory encoding and positive emotion.
- Show shared emotion: Laughter between characters triggers empathic mirroring, making audiences feel included. Shared joy builds warmth faster than overt persuasion.
- Keep it simple and rhythmic: The ad’s concise structure allows humour and emotion to breathe. Small beats of interaction keep neural engagement steady without overload.
- Balance closure with recall: A clean ending allows viewers to process and retain what they’ve seen. Simplicity helps the brain “file away” the brand association.
In short, “Tangfastics” proves that small creative risks, when grounded in a brand’s identity, can yield big emotional payoffs. The neuroscience confirms it. Laughter and surprise don’t just entertain, they make brands unforgettable.
For more insights from PRIZM+ on how neuroscience drives advertising impact, visit: https://www.futureproofinsights.ie/prizm-plus/
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