But this ad is geared towards getting new customers. It just happens via old customers who already know what the product is. They are encouraged to introduce it to their friends. Another take on old buy one get two.

McDonalds could run it like this: Buy Big Mac give another to your friend. So you have to go there with someone to benefit from the offer. Most people already know McDonalds, so this method would be mainly to reward old customers. For more obscure brand this could be good way to activate customer evangelists.

Subscription based service doesn’t really fit to this approach, because users already have the product and buying one more doesn’t add to their own wellbeing. So in your market example the rational purpose is to win market share directly from competitor, which always makes sense. But consider this: subscribe The New York Times and choose a friend to receive free subscription of TNYT for 3 months.

Could Stride execute this better? Probably, but I can’t immediately come up with a better solution. What I do know is that sunshine, smile and white teeth don’t really cut it anymore.

P.S. lately you’ve made some very good points about value. Keep up the good work.

Imagine a man at a table inside a grocery store, with a stack of newspapers. Let’s say it’s The New York Times. The man asks everyone who approaches the table the same question: “Do you read the New York Times?” If the shopper says no, the man politely thanks them. If the shopper says yes, the man tells the shopper all about how great The New York Times is, and then gives out a coupon for two free weeks. In this scenario, who does it make sense to talk to, existing readers of The New York Times or people who read The New York Daily News?

Therefore this ad is meant for those people who already think that Stride is the thing to chew. Explaining the product any further would be waste of space. Focus on giving something for faithful user.