The myth-busts, hot takes, explainers, and tools worth keeping.
Contrary to the belief that all advertisers exaggerate, admitting a flaw can actually boost credibility. Most brands avoid this, making those who do more memorable and trustworthy.
“If you admit a flaw, you've tangibly demonstrated your honesty, and then all your other claims become that much more believable.”
The Pratfall effect, identified by psychologist Elliot Aronson, shows that people find individuals or brands more likable when they display minor flaws. In advertising, admitting a weakness—like KFC saying 'Our fries suck'—can increase relatability and believability.
“The contestant is seen as significantly more appealing if people have heard the mistake as well as the amazing performance.”
The IKEA effect shows that people value things more when they put effort into them. General Mills learned this when their cake mix failed—until they added the step of cracking an egg, making it feel more meaningful.
“They artificially make the cake mix more complicated... now you have to crack an egg into it. And now, by making it harder, once they've…”
Consumers judge value relatively, not absolutely. Seedlip, a non-alcoholic gin, is priced at £25—expensive for a cordial but reasonable when compared to premium gin.
“If you stuck [Seedlip] next to Ribena... there's no way on earth any right-minded consumer would pay more than a fiver.”
In a supermarket experiment, playing French music increased French wine sales to 77% of total French/German wine sales. When German music played, German wine dominated. Yet 86% of shoppers denied being influenced.
“When the French music plays, 77% of the wine from those two countries is French, 27% German.”
McArthur Wheeler robbed two banks with lemon juice on his face, believing it made him invisible to cameras. His extreme overconfidence inspired the Dunning-Kruger effect—the idea that unskilled people overestimate their abilities.
“He smeared his face with lemon juice. Because his mate had told him that lemon juice is what's, you know, you make invisible ink out…”
When captured by pirates, Caesar insisted they demand a higher ransom—50 units instead of 20—knowing the high price would boost his reputation. This is an early example of the Veblen effect: high price signals high quality.
“Caesar said, 'No, no, no, hang on. Don't ask for 20. I'm worth far more than that. Ask for 50.'”
People whose age ends in 9 (29, 39, 49, etc.) are more likely to make major life changes—like running their first marathon or joining an affair site—due to a psychological 'fresh start' mindset.
“People were 48% more likely to do a marathon first time when their age ends in nine.”
A designer adds a 3.5-second loading bar to spreadsheets to make them appear more sophisticated and trustworthy—even though it's just an animation.
“That loading bar is always 3 and 1/2 seconds long. No matter how much data goes through because it's just an animation.”
Ogilvy ran a campaign using reformed pickpockets to drop flyers in people's pockets, proving how easy it is to steal—making the warning more impactful than a sign.
“They got the pickpocket to drop a little flyer in people's pockets saying, 'Well, it was easy enough for me to put this in your…”