Andy Reads the Ads
/In the Credit Swipe trailer, Craig say…
And the ad copy includes this quote…
Craig has taken one of the greatest card tricks of all time and brought it bang up to date with an EDC that makes sense to carry with you at all times.
Can anyone tell me WHAT THE FUCK EDC EVEN MEANS ANYMORE?
This is a trick that uses twelve fake credit cards and a deck of cards. (Although there is a more streamlined version that uses a mere seven fake credit cards.)
I thought EDC was supposed to refer to magic that was either:
a) super unobtrusive and easy to carry, or
b) designed to look like something you already carry every day.
I don’t think the trick is bad. I just don’t love that any trick that can conceivably be jammed into a pocket now gets slapped with the EDC label. It’s become a meaningless synonym for “smaller than a basketball.”
I mean, we’re talking about a deck of cards and a stack of blank credit cards thick enough to stop a bullet. How is that EDC—unless EDC stands for Extremely Droopy Cargo-pants. Because your trousers are going to be dragging with all the shit you’re hauling around.
Tongue Tied is a fun trick where you blow up a balloon and then tie a knot in the nozzle with your tongue
The ad says: The best party trick of the decade.
But here’s the thing: The balloon can’t be examined after you tie the knot.
So I have to ask… have you ever been to a party?
You’re in close quarters. Lots of people. There’s drinking. People are chatty, uncensored, and handsy. And you think no one is going to say, “Wait—lemme see that balloon real quick”?
Like, you just did something impossible with your tongue, and the whole room’s going to be like, “I’m amazed and I take your word for it.”
One-on-one, If you pick your moment, and the right person, you might luck into someone who’s more charmed than curious. Or if you’re doing it on stage or some kind of formal show, people won’t expect to be able to examine everything.
But a party seems to be the one place where you almost certainly can’t get away with it.
Even one skeptical person saying “Wait… can I see that?” is going to trigger a ripple of doubt through the group. And now, instead of being the intriguing magician with the dextrous tongue, you’re the sweaty guy running away with your special balloon
If you could really do this, you'd make everyone examine it. So trying to play it coy just makes it look fishy.
If you start to wonder why a lot of magic ads are sounding more grandiose and out of touch with reality, it’s because it’s being farmed out to AI to do. And AI doesn’t really have any clue of how to talk about a magic trick other than as some awe-inspiring miracle.
Case in point, Firefly by Titanas.
It’s a little light that appears in your hand. But AI has no sense of proportion, so it frames it this way.
Some moments in magic feel like cinema.
Within your hands, a spark of light appears It flutters. Glows. Fades like a memory. And when it's gone... your hands are empty. Your audience is left breathless.
By contrast, here is how the Bible describes Jesus Christ walking on water:
And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.
When AI writing first emerged, it was rigid and mechanical. Now it’s been trained to mimic human rhythm. Counterintuitively, once you start to notice the AI cadence, it feels unmistakably non-human. It falls back on the same tricks. Short sentences. Repetition. Dramatic pauses. Like this. And this.
But more than style, there’s a deeper issue: you can tell these ads weren’t written by someone who truly knows anything about the product. They feel like the work of a mindless sales algorithm wearing a poet costume.
The best gimmicks don't scream "look at me" - they simply whisper... and the world changes.
FIREFLY ILLUMINATE THE WORLD, ONE SPARK AT A TIME
Oh, okay! Thanks, AI! I’ll go do that! I’ll go illuminate the world now!