Promising and not delivering: Jorge Jesus' lesson for those who make announcements

Three weeks ago, Jorge Jesus’s first roster selection taught us a lesson in strategy. Now, a controversy surrounding the national team teaches us another—this time about confidence—and helps us understand why so many ads fail to convert.

According to Ronaldo’s account, Jorge Jesus promised him that he would come on in the final minutes of the first game against Norway. That didn’t happen: he remained on the bench for the entire 90 minutes, and after the coach’s press conference, he left the team’s training camp before the game against Denmark.

For anyone who runs a business, there’s a more useful question than figuring out who’s right: what happens when someone makes a promise and then breaks it?

Because that’s exactly what many ads do every day. They promise one thing to get a click and deliver something else when the person arrives. The logic, in soccer and in marketing, is similar: when what was promised no longer matches what actually happens, trust is called into question.

1. An ad is a promise

Many people view an ad as a way to grab attention. But an ad is, first and foremost, a promise: “If you click here, you’ll find this.”

The problem begins when that promise isn't fulfilled on the other end. The ad mentions a promotion, but the page opens to the homepage. The ad shows one product, but the user has to search for it among twenty others. The text says “book now,” but the form requires ten fields to be filled out before showing any available times.

When what they find doesn’t match their expectations, users quickly realize it wasn’t what they were looking for and end up leaving.

Before launching a campaign, walk through the customer’s journey. Look at the ad, click on it, and ask yourself: Is the first thing I see what they promised me?

2. Overpromising attracts the wrong people

There’s a common temptation: to exaggerate the promise to lower the cost per click. “Results in 7 days,” “the cheapest on the market,” “no obligation.”

At first, the numbers actually look good. Lots of clicks, low cost, wide reach. But the people who clicked were expecting something that doesn’t exist. They don’t buy, they don’t leave their contact information, and when they do, they drop out during their first conversation with the sales team.

An honest ad might get fewer clicks. But it attracts people who are actually looking for what your business offers. And those are the ones who end up buying.

With paid traffic, bringing in the right person is worth more than bringing in a lot of people.

3. Changing the Terms Midway Through

According to Ronaldo’s account, the problem wasn’t just being benched. It was the feeling that the agreement had changed without warning.

In advertising, this happens more often than you might think. The promotion ended on Friday, but the ad remains active over the weekend. The price shown in the ad isn’t the price that appears at checkout. Free shipping is only free for orders above a certain amount—an amount that wasn’t listed anywhere.

It’s rarely due to bad intentions. It’s almost always a lack of follow-up: the campaign was launched, and no one looked at it again.

Whenever a price, a condition, or a deadline changes, the campaign must be updated the same day.

4. Trust is lost quickly and regained slowly

When a promise isn’t kept, the consequences can extend beyond the people directly involved. Within a few days, the national soccer team incident sparked press releases, conflicting accounts, memes, and even posters on the street.

With brands, the effect is similar, just on a smaller scale. Anyone who feels misled by an ad will comment on it, leave a bad review, or simply not return. And the next time they see an ad from the same brand, they’ll just skip right past it.

Keeping your promises isn’t just a matter of ethics. It’s what keeps campaigns running over the long term.

What are your ads promising?

The controversy between Jorge Jesus and Cristiano Ronaldo will continue to be the talk of the town. But it leaves a simple lesson for anyone who invests in advertising: a promise is only worth something if it’s fulfilled on the other side of the click.

Before increasing a campaign’s budget, take a look at the entire journey. An ad doesn’t work on its own. It’s part of a system in which each step—the ad, the landing page, the form, and the team’s response—must deliver on the promise made in the previous step. Everything has to tell the same story.

Did you like what you read?

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