Shermer at TED: Why we Believe Myths

When the Taylor Swift of the UK, Katie Melua, sang the lyrics,

“We are 12 billion light years from the edge / That’s a guess / No one can ever say it’s true / But I know that I will always be with you,”

Simon Singh, a physicist, responded with an op-ed piece in the Guardian pointing out actually, we are 13.7 billion light years from the edge of the universe. Surprisingly, she re-cut the song with the lyrics,

“We are 13.7 billion light years from the edge of observable universe / That’s a good estimate with well-defined error bars / And with the available information / I predict that I will always be with you.”

Which sounds better? Unless you’re a prickly-nosed physicist, the original tells a much more compelling story. But why? It goes against our intellectual brain — telling us 12 billion light years is the size of the universe when it’s clearly 13.7 billion. It’s irrational! Michael Shermer, the publisher of Skeptic Magazine might have the answer. Shermer spoke at TED yesterday about how stories and myths often trump stats, facts, numbers, etc.

We create myths and stories to explain, rationalize and cope with our lives. In this way, myths and stories tap into our emotional core. They make us want to believe in ridiculous things, whether ghosts, UFOs, big foot, the Bermuda Triangle, the Virgin Mary on grilled cheese, the “Nun Bun” (a phenomenon known as pareidolia) or Virgin Mary on grilled cheese (which sold for $28 on e-Bay).

Here is his last talk at TED in 2006 (as yesterday’s hasn’t been posted):

Shermer points out, although we are nearly drowning in with data and facts in the Information Age, we make faces out of mole hills and fantasize about hubcaps in the sky. Literally. We found a face-shaped hill on Mars and time and time again, it’s just a hubcap in the sky, not a UFO. How can marketer’s us this to reach consumers?

Consumers want stories. They want a story and now more than ever, they want a taste of optimism. And that optimism tastes a bit like Coca Cola. In fact, Coca Cola is Interbrand’s no. 1 global brand. How has the soft drink maker achieved such a prized brand status? Partly for the same reason people believe in UFOs and Mother Teresa in a grilled cheese: stories. Coca Cola tells stories and they do it well.

The ubiquitous soft drink maker understood, particularly in tough economic times, consumers want optimism and comfort. This strategy, bonded with creativity and thus, the “Open Happiness” campaign was born:

Looking at this ad, how can marketers tell compelling stories:

Establish a mood: The whimsical Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf Op 67 sets a fantasical mood … it’s reminiscent of childhood cartoons. Ah yes, what a pristine, crisp, sunny day. The ladybugs are buzzing, and what… there is a Coca Cola bottle. Then the music comes to life, as does the rest of the forest and the story of nature working to open the Coca Cola unfolds.

Develop a compelling concept: Coca Cola understood the need for comfort and optimism in recessionary times. This ad offers a solution to our woes. It is an allegory of how working in tandem can benefit everyone… the swarm of bees tip the Coca Cola bottle, the grasshoppers push the bottle onto the lily pad, the dragon flies push it down the stream… etc.

Execute appropriately: If this were 2-D, would it be the same? Probably not. The animation makes you feel like you’re there, flying alongside the bees, jumping with the grasshoppers and floating down the stream with Miss Ladybug. The POV camera shots, coupled with the realistic animation make you feel there, a part of the forest working in harmony to get a droplet of Coca Cola.

Yes, this story makes me think I am opening happiness whenever I open Coca Cola. It tells a story of working together for the greater good. Would it be as compelling if we had a slideshow of how Coca Cola’s 92,400 employees, in over 200 countries bring you over 3,000 products? Factory tour vs whimsical nature story? To Shermer’s point: stories captivate people in ways statistics cannot. Like Coca Cola, UFOs, faces on Mars, big foot and the Virgin Mary on grilled cheese, brands must use the art of story to unlock consumer’s emotions — to connect.

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