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You’re standing in front of a row of food trucks when your stomach lets out a growl that sounds eerily like Chewbacca.

You’ve gotta make a decision—pronto.

You narrow down your lunch options to the two side-by-side sub trucks.

One has a big printed menu listing every sub they offer, plus ingredients and prices.

You skim it, but nothing really sticks out or sounds good.

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The other food truck has a small chalkboard menu with hand-drawn, cartoon-style sketches next to each sub.

The “Philly Cheesesteak” has steam curling off shaved sirloin and melted provolone.

The “Turkey Avocado” shows neatly stacked turkey slices with a smear of green smashed goodness on each slice of bread.

You pick the Philly Cheesesteak and devour it in less than 10 minutes.

Later that night, you realize something weird.

You can picture nearly every sketch (and the sub it represented) from the food truck you grabbed a bite from.

But that first truck with the text-only menu?

You only remember one or two subs they had to offer.

Why did the menu with images stick in your brain while the other one vanished?

In today’s edition of Why We Buy 🧠 we’ll explore the Picture Superiority Effect—why we remember images more than words alone.

Let’s get into it.

🧠 The Psychology of the Picture Superiority Effect

Psychologist Allan Paivio introduced the foundation for the Picture Superiority Effect with the Dual Coding Theory.

Here’s the gist:

• Words get encoded in our memory just once—verbally.
• Images get encoded twice—visually and verbally.

Because when we see an image, our brain automatically (and usually subconsciously) slaps a label on it.

And that double encoding makes the memory stickier than maple syrup.

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There’s a mountain of research that’s since come out that backs this theory up.

In one study, participants were shown 10,000 images for a few seconds each. They remembered 83% of them.

And the study that gave the Picture Superiority Effect its snazzy name found something crucial:

Pictures are remembered more than words alone, but all images are NOT remembered equally.

If the visuals are too similar (e.g., eight hammers), memory can actually get worse because our brains struggle to tell them apart.

That’s why you should use distinct, pattern-interrupting visuals to reinforce your marketing message—not generic stock photos that blur into the background.

🤑 How To Apply This

Alright, so how can you apply this right now to sell more?

Pair a humorous message with a product image

Oatly’s ad copy grabs your attention immediately because it’s bold and weird with a dash of dry humor.

But the key to memorability? They include an image of the actual oat milk carton.

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That visual creates a memory hook, so you’re more likely to recognize and grab their oat milk the next time you’re at the grocery store.

Use images to tell a powerful story

Heinz didn’t say their ketchup is “all-natural” or “made with real tomatoes.” *yawn*

Instead, they showed it by turning their ketchup bottle into a stack of freshly sliced tomatoes.

The tagline? “No one grows ketchup like Heinz.”

Just 1 image and 6 words tell the entire story: Heinz grows fresh, real ingredients.

It’s easy to understand and instantly stored in your memory because the image *is* the message.

Hook target buyers fast with nostalgic imagery

Do you remember when David and Donna got engaged 25 years ago on Beverly Hills, 90210?

If so, you should probably start using retinol, according to Neutrogena.

Their new “Neutrogena Remembers” campaign features throwbacks like landlines and teen mags. Then it uses a board-certified dermatologist to deliver this line:

“If you remember this, it may be time to start using Neutrogena Retinol Regenerating Cream.”

Nostalgic images like this are a triple threat because they also evoke emotions, making the message hit even deeper and linger long after the commercial ends.

(And no, we don’t feel personally attacked at all 🥲)

​💥 The Short of It

Images get encoded 2X more than words alone.

But that doesn’t mean you should ditch copy for memes.

Pairing sharp copy with scroll-stopping visuals is the Rolls Royce of marketing.

When your visuals are clear and compelling, your buyer’s brain stores the message two ways—visually and verbally—making it way more likely to stick.

So your marketing isn’t just pretty.

It’s smart, too.
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​Until next time, happy selling!