Negativity rules the waves. Brainwaves that is. It's official, your brain responds better to bad news than positive news. Research from Ohio State University shows that the human brain reacts more strongly to stimuli it deems negative. When exposed to negativity there is a greater surge in the brain's cerebral cortex and an increase in electrical activity that far outweighs that when receiving positive news.
How can we harness this positive force of negativity to fuel creativity and power persuasion? It seems the best creatives have been on to this for some time.
Take this timeless campaign for The Corroda, Volkswagen's first ever sports car. The brief was to dramatise speed in a pre launch campaign with one little hiccup, the new speedy vehicle was slow off the production line. What do we do with this piece of negativity? Use the suggested artist render as suggested by the client or handbrake turn the amplified electrical activity into something good? The team took the high road and their answer was simple, graphic and intriguing. Without showing the vehicle the campaign stopped people in their tracks whilst communicating the single minded idea; that this Volkswagen was fast.
VW Corrado, Agency: BMP DDB
More recently Hershey's were on the receiving end of some negativity at the most positive time of year, Christmas. "Your trees are sh*t" was the resounding chorus on social media. The digital mob proclaimed the Reese’s tree-shaped peanut butter candies looked more faecal than festive. Undeterred the brand made no efforts to remedy their shoddily shaped sweets and instead harnessed the energy from the raised digital pitch forks, embraced the increase in electrical energy and span it into a positive with a series of ads announcing ‘#AllTreesAreBeautiful’. The debate was over, the negative fuelled a positive and the brand rode the social wave all the way to Spring.
Agency: Arnold Worldwide
In the UK, Tesco Super Subs, tackled the ultimate shopping negative: out of stock. A real pain point particularly prevalent with those experiencing supermarket home deliveries. The team propelled this negativity into a majestic activation promoting the supermarket's new mobile product range. Unavailable apples were substituted for Apple iphones, unavailable Galaxy chocolate bars swapped for Galaxy mobiles and unavailable washing tablets were substituted for ipads - all delighting consumers as they received their deliveries and whipping up a storm in PR and goodwill.
Agency: BBH / John Doe
Next time negativity comes knocking, don't default to the apologetic hum of the drum. Remember the science, harness the energy surging through your cortex, saddle it up and bolt to where the creative riches reside.