How unexpected should the audio be before it's just confusing?
Unexpected enough to create a double-take, not so weird it's alienating. Classical music for energy drinks, heavy metal for meditation apps, children's lullabies for horror--the contrast should make sense once you think about it. Random unexpected audio is just jarring. Strategic unexpected audio makes people reconsider assumptions.
What if people hate the unexpected audio choice?
Then you either chose wrong for your audience or didn't commit hard enough to make it work. Test it. If the visceral reaction is confusion instead of interest, rethink. Audio is emotionally powerful--getting it wrong creates strong negative associations. Better safe than sorry if you're not confident.
Example: How it could look
A luxury car brand doesn't use engine sounds or orchestral swells--they use pure silence punctuated by natural sounds. Birds, wind, footsteps. The message: our cars are so quiet, you hear the world instead of the road. The unexpected silence is more powerful than any music.
Or like this:
Why is Unexpected audio a great technique?
Unexpected audio creates instant attention and emotional reframing by violating sonic expectations in ways that serve the message.
Captures attention through surprise
Creates strong emotional associations
Differentiates through sonic distinctiveness
Makes ads memorable through contrast
Audio bypasses conscious processing--it hits emotionally first, rationally second. When you use unexpected sound strategically, you create associations competitors can't copy and memories that stick deeper than words ever could.
! When not to use the Unexpected audio Technique
When you're being unexpected for shock value without connection to your message. Random audio choices just confuse and annoy.
Technique first described by www.deckofbrilliance.com