Advertising normally works hard to remove barriers. Make the product easy to try. Make the offer easy to claim. Make the experience open to everyone.
Gatekeeper Perspective does something more interesting. It puts a rule at the door.
A pet must approve. A promise must be made. A test must be passed. A product must already be in the cupboard. Here are seven ways to make conditional access carry the idea.
- Win the Real Decision-Maker
- Make a Promise the Price of Entry
- Make Refusal Create Desire
- Make Them Prove They Belong
- Let the Gatekeeper Lose
- Demand Proof That Cannot Be Faked
- Make the Product the Price of Admission
1. Win the Real Decision-Maker
Find the person, pet or authority standing between you and the audience.
Lynx With Catnip — Lynx · LOLA MullenLowe · 2025
Most fragrance advertising concentrates on attracting the person you want to date. Lynx noticed there might be somebody else to impress first.
Research suggested that 60% of cat owners would not date someone their cat disliked. So Lynx created a limited-edition fragrance containing catnip, designed to attract the date and the cat sitting between you and them.
The cat was not an eccentric ambassador. It was the hidden gatekeeper to the relationship.
Grandma’s Darling — Heinz · DAVID São Paulo · 2026
Heinz dressed mayonnaise jars in handmade crochet covers to win over Brazilian grandmothers, recognising that the person eating the product is not always the person deciding which brand enters the kitchen.
The creative move: Identify who really controls access to your audience. Redirect the idea towards winning their approval. Make their response the reason your intended target follows.
2. Make a Promise the Price of Entry
Turn arrival into a moment of personal commitment.
Palau Pledge — Palau Legacy Project · Host/Havas · 2017
Tourism was vital to Palau. But the behaviour of growing numbers of visitors was threatening the environment they had come to enjoy.
Instead of asking tourists to behave responsibly once they arrived, Palau changed the immigration process. Every visitor had to sign a pledge, stamped into their passport, promising the children of Palau that they would protect their island home.
The sustainability message was no longer optional advice. It became the ritual price of entering the country.
Promise Codes — Lime · The Or · 2026
Lime turned safety pledges into working promotional codes. Riders typed promises such as wearing a helmet or stopping at red lights into the app, with the completed pledge unlocking free ride minutes.
The creative move: Decide what people should promise before gaining access. Place that pledge at the entrance. Make the act of committing more memorable than another instruction to behave.
