“Fear is maintained by a dread of punishment which never fails.”
— Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, Chapter 17
Machiavelli was writing about rulers and their subjects, but advertisers understand the principle. Before offering relief, make the audience imagine what could go wrong. Show them the cavity before you show them the toothpaste.
I have taught consumer behaviour for many years. I wrote a small, unpopular textbook—a digital-only text that I sold online directly to my students.
One chapter goes off on a bit of a tangent and deals with the merits of promotional fear appeals—what happens to a consumer’s brain when you show them the cavity before you show them the toothpaste.
This chapter on the power of fear - used with restraint - was a foundational unit because fear remains one of the most reliable levers in the entire promotional toolkit — more reliable, frankly, than most of what passes for “brand storytelling.”
Indeed, consumers might be a little tired of sitting down to brandtime…
