The ONE WITH THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE.

When I was younger, a few of my friends who were writers and I used to have a text thread of the most ridiculous possible plot twists in established storylines. It would go a little like this…

A full-feature Friends movie that is marketed as such, but after about 30 minutes of “Friends” wacky hijinks, one of the Friends (Ross? Phoebe?) violently murders the rest of the Friends. The remainder of the movie becomes a David Fincher-style crime film where Gary The Cop solves the murders. (this one’s for you Michael Rappaport)

What can I say? We were young, and we found stupid things like this funny. DEFINITELY don’t talk about things like this anymore. Wink Wink. Nudge Nudge.

You know what though? Every person that I’ve told this plot line was interested in it. They asked follow-up questions. They would laugh. The craziness of it rattled and engaged them.

And that’s it, isn’t it? We have been completely lulled into apathy by everyday storylines, messages and ads that use the same safe formula to “reach” their target audience. Only during the Super Bowl do agencies and marketers really dare to be different. To stand out. In fact, it’s a pre-requisite. But why?

Gregory Berns, professor of Psychiatry at Emory University ran a study using brain scans that showed humans are hard-wired to derive pleasure from unexpected events. “What this means is that the part of the brain that has always been associated with pure pleasure really cares about when you get something unexpected, associated with pure pleasure really cares about when you get something unexpected.”

Comedy, celebrity, sales events, all pale in comparison to a storyline that can shock the system and make people look twice. And then come back again. And then talk to their friends about it, creating the most effective marketing tool…word of mouth.

When I was working for Hudson Rouge, our creative team rolled out the iconic Matthew McConnaughey campaign. When it was being shopped around the office, there was pretty significant push back. There were plenty of celebrity-endorsed vehicle commercials, but ours was quite different:

·      No price points in the initial commercials.

·      No talking points about the benefits of the car.

·      Matthew tells the audience that he doesn’t drive the car to be cool.

·      The only call to action is a Lincoln logo/tagline at the end of the spot.

The spot and the campaign would help raise sales 25% in its first month running. HUGE numbers for an automotive brand that translated to huge dollars.

Similarly, Dos Equis was long represented by the “Most Interesting Man in the World”.

·      An older spokesperson.

·      Who told the audience that “He doesn’t always drink beer.”

·      No talking points about the benefits or taste of the beer.

And we all know how that turned out for the Dos Equis brand.

There are many variations of this story. The Coinbase QR Super Bowl ad, Liquid Death and on more local/small business levels, Little Baby’s Ice Cream or (when it started out) Dollar Shave Club…on and on and on. Yet still, across categories, brands use the same messaging that has become category-standard throughout the years.

Surprise is a successful marketing tool across all verticals. As marketing functions have become overwhelmingly analytical, there is a lack of data & research showing the success of programs that are willing fly the flag of bravery. As a result, it’s up to the individuals in the marketing departments to champion creativity, uniqueness, and to suppress the urge to choose the safe option. The one with the large logo surrounded by price points and the same language that’s ubiquitous in their competitors’ advertising.

We’re here to be surprised by you marketers.

We’re here to champion you.

We’ll be there for you.

(‘Cause you’re there for us too.)