Brands wield significant power to influence consumer perception, behavior, and even physiological responses, often by tapping into psychological shortcuts and emotional triggers rather than solely relying on a product's inherent utility.
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Brands can profoundly shape our actions
and even our physiology this is Tylenol
and this is generic store brand medicine
they have the exact same ingredients so
they should work the same but they don't
if one of the pills costs more it'll be
more effective even the color of a pill
and its packaging can dictate how
effective it is it's all in The Branding
and design and this extends far beyond
Tylenol wine tastes better when poured
from a heavier bottle food tastes better
when it's plated beautifully just the
mere presence of a MasterCard logo can
trigger customers to spend 30% more than
they normally would companies understand
that brands are like placebos they use
all sorts of Mind Tricks to get us to
see what they want it's gotten to a
point where Brands aren't just selling
you a product they're selling you a
tribal group identity that they want you
to be a part of they reel you in with
clever branding and beautiful design so
how do they do it and is this a good
thing or is company branding and
designed all just a bunch of
manipulative BS I've spent over a decade
thinking about this throughout my design
career and I've read a lot of books to
try to answer this and because the
answer is so nuanced I've created a BS
intensity Spectrum which is based on the
Saffire Simpson hurricane scale on one
end is a little drizzle of creative
Liberty still grounded in reality but
the other end is a category 5 feal
Tempest of deception where companies
toss truth to the wind just to drive
sales creating a huge gap between
marketing claims and actual reality on
this quest to unravel branding insights
you'll will get a deep understanding of
human psychology and how design hooks
into our Primal instincts and desires so
let's work our way up the continum the
most basic form of branding is simply
labeling your product which has been
around since at least 2000 BC Craftsmen
would imprint symbols onto their goods
to show where they came from this may
not seem like a big deal but it's
actually a very important way to protect
customers the Soviet Union learned this
the hard way brand names were seen as
anti-communist so bread was just labeled
bread no matter what company made the
bread the packaging labels were all the
same if you bit into some bread that was
stale or moldy you had no way of knowing
which company to avoid producers weren't
held accountable so the quality of many
products were truly terrible this wasn't
only about bread it went as deep as
rivets those tiny little things holding
ships together factories turned out
unbranded rivets that got jumbled up
into one Central facility no one knew
where each rivet came from so once again
there was no incentive for companies to
make good rivets so why does this matter
well it starts to matter a lot when
ships start springing leaks and sinking
to the bottom of the ocean the Soviets
did finally end up having factories
stamp their brand names onto their
products and quality went up producers
were held accountable and customers knew
trust sometimes nothing brings people
together like a nice hot pizza from
Pizza Hut branding helped solve a
problem called information asymmetry
this is when sellers know everything
about what they're selling and buyers
know almost nothing about what they're
buying buying if you're buying from a
well-established brand there's a lot of
information and inherent trust built
into that transaction so branding isn't
always about manipulating into buying
things you don't need without Brands
there's an increased incentive for
companies to create a cheaper lower
quality product because they make a
greater profit while suffering no
reputational consequences now that's one
good reason for Branding but as
designers and marketers know branding is
really about influencing people
emotionally this can be used for good or
evil for example we don't brush our
teeth primarily for health reasons I
mean sure that's definitely a big part
of it but for most people that's not the
main reason if it was we'd brush after
every meal but take a moment and think
when do you usually brush probably
before an important meeting or a date
usually before we eat nobody's
vigorously brushing after secretly
annihilating that chocolate bar while
binge watching Netflix brushing your
teeth is about being confident and
removing stains or bad breath and that's
also why toothpaste is usually mint
flavored it makes your mouth feel fresh
the mint does doesn't give any practical
health benefits we might think we do
things for logical reasons but emotions
often drive us many people believe
emotions are unreliable but they're
actually crucial evolutionary shortcuts
that help us for example our strong
dislike for dirty or rotting things
isn't based on a logical understanding
of germs our caveman ancestors that
stayed away from rotting things lived
longer so we developed a negative
emotional response to it thousands or
even millions of years ago way before we
ever knew about germs terms emotions tap
into a biological and intuitive need
without all the processing and good
designers know this emotional Alchemy
like the back of their hands it's like
buying a Tesla the buyer might insist
that it's because they want to take care
of the environment but it's more likely
that it's just fun to drive and show off
as a status symbol otherwise they just
drive a Nissan Leaf or something so
anyway look these branding examples are
all pretty harmless but things will get
worse with the rising tide of the BS
Continuum the next level of the
Continuum is about visual shorthand so
here's a simple example toothpaste
stripes and yes this is the last mention
of toothpaste I'll make in the video but
why have stripes once you start brushing
it all mixes together anyway the stripes
don't serve any logical purpose but they
do look cool and they show you that the
toothpaste does more than one thing in a
visual way like fighting cavities and
freshening breath people love any visual
visible effort that goes into a product
if you just say that it's an improved
toothpaste formula but it looks exactly
the same as before it's not as
convincing if you add something visual
like Stripes it's a lot more believable
adding visuals to highlight real
benefits seems reasonable enough but we
steer into murkier Waters when designers
add elements that don't honestly convey
the product's benefits car companies
sometimes add fake vents to their car
designs for example lots of car
enthusiasts complain about this because
it makes the car look more powerful than
it really is it feels a little dishonest
and this is maybe a hot take but I
ranked this example pretty low cars are
sculpted to exude power and Agility and
designers do all sorts of visual tricks
to convey that why draw the line at fake
vents what about the flashy styling
lines or fancy rims they're mostly
visual shorthand just like the vents and
no one complains about that imagine if
we got rid of any visual element of a
car that was not primarily functional a
Lamborghini would start to look more
like a 1996 Cameron if we think back to
the Tylenol example from the beginning
of the video looks can genuinely affect
how we perceive things and even how
effective products are maybe those fake
vents or cool rims are a placebo that
helps us drive better at the very least
it keeps things interesting to be clear
I think visual shorthand does become a
problem when brands use it to highlight
an element that is completely fake for
example there are some speakers that
have two drivers in them but only one of
them is real when you get speakers with
fake drivers it's messing with the main
reason you bought them for the sound
quality you probably paid more thinking
that the extra driver is real on the
other hand fake vents don't
significantly change how well the car
runs we don't have time to meticulously
analyze every single detail when buying
something for most purchases you just
make a snap judgment based on a few
indicators imagine analyzing and
comparing price specs materials and
quality for every single item on your
grocery list you just go insane that's
why visual shorthand is valuable
branding and design helps to convey
what's good about a product without
making us do all the work there are
situations where we make more calculated
decisions when there's a lot at stake
but most buying decisions just aren't
that important most of the time you're
right sometimes you're wrong it only
becomes a problem when companies
actively try to deceive us this type of
visual signaling extends Way Beyond the
design of the product itself we don't
just buy the thing we buy based on the
trustworthiness and reputation of the
person selling the thing nice packaging
and storefronts are signals that they're
trustworthy businesses counting on
repeat customers a company that spends
time after you have bought and paid for
a product to make sure you're not
disappointed is more likely to be
trustworthy especially when contrasted
with a company that just runs away right
after youve bought something that's why
Sephora gives you nice little bags with
the little rope handles it's an extra
expense for them but it signals that
they're trustworthy and care about your
long-term experience also the more a
seller has to lose in terms of their
reputation the more confident you can be
in their quality control it's why you
buy sandwiches from sandwich shops with
a storefront and employees rather than
some guy selling $5 Foot Longs out of
his van down by the river the sandwich
shop stands to lose a lot if the food
gets you sick they have an entire
business and infrastructure and they
could get sued if something goes wrong
the guy in the van down by the river
will probably be gone the next day and
once again we don't just buy the thing
we buy based on the trustworthiness and
reputation of the person selling the
thing you might think this stuff doesn't
work on you but you'd be surprised
during a project where I was designing
food packaging I noticed that when the
packaging designs made the food appear
more appetizing people almost
universally reported that the food
tasted a lot better too these things
really do influence our perception
that's why good brands don't focus on
what people say but instead focus on
what they feel and what they do now
here's the thing scam companies know
that real or honest comp companies use
these kinds of signaling devices too so
they try to emulate their behavior in
order to rip you off and I'll talk more
about this later in the video but
generally speaking if you're doing a
quick scam it doesn't pay off to incur
too many expenses with high quality
branding and design these strategies can
be abused but they're pretty reliable
overall as we venture deeper into the
storm though things go from slightly
questionable to full-on dumpster
fire there was a study conducted where a
company was trying to raise donations
for a charity for ironically enough
Hurricane Relief these envelopes were
mailed out to millions of people some of
the envelopes were different from the
others tell me if you can guess which
ones raised the most money 100,000 were
hand delivered by volunteers 100,000
were delivered in an envelope that
opened in portrait format 100,000 were
in higher quality envelopes and 100,000
encouraged people to complete a form
which gave them a 25% tax rebate logic
would tell you the 25% tax rebate is the
one that raised the most money if you
donate a dollar you get 25 cents back
none of the other things matter right I
mean who cares about a fancy envelope
why does it matter if it's hand
delivered but as you've probably already
learned from this video logic doesn't
always matter when it comes to human
decision-making the 25% tax rebate
actually performed the worst out of all
of the above options in fact they got
30% fewer donations the other options
increased donations by over 10% the
higher quality paper also tended to
encourage people to give big donations
of more than $100 so what's going on
here I mean a lot of it has to do with
visual signaling which we explained
earlier but another possible reason for
the success of the nicer envelopes is
the rule of reciprocation we feel the
need to return favors when someone goes
out of their way to hand deliver an
envelope to you you feel indebted to
them we hate the feeling of being
indebted or beholding to someone else so
we often do outsid things to get rid of
that feeling of obligation companies
also exploit this when they offer free
samples knowing customers will feel
compelled to buy in one study at a
California candy shop customers were 42%
more likely to make a purchase when they
were given free samples you'd think this
happened because the customers liked the
product but that wasn't the case here
they usually bought other types of
candies not the ones that they got free
samples of and lastly we equate effort
with quality when we see a higher level
of effort put into something we assume
that it's worthwhile if I tell you that
I wrote this video in one day you might
not think much of it but if I tell you I
researched it for months and have 100
pages of extra notes you probably feel a
lot more confident that what I'm saying
is true when companies put in a bit of
extra effort we appreciate it and feel
more inclined to support them by the way
if you want to access the full script
with like 80 pages of extra notes and
want to support the channel check out my
patreon link down below so the rule of
reciprocation can get a little bit
manipulative but now we're really
Spectrum in Robert cini's book influence
he describes a beij Jing restaurant
chain that wanted to boost profits
without any extra effort or cost they
didn't want to Source better ingredients
or improve their recipes or spend any
any money on Advertising this sounds
impossible right they tried labeling
menu items Chef special or house
recommendation with limited success but
labeling menu items with two magical
words made all the difference most
popular sales went up by 13 to 20%
without changing anything else that is
social proof social proof is relying on
others opinions to make choices
especially when we don't have enough
information to make an informed decision
that's why marketers focus on what is
highest rated or best selling they don't
need to convince you that a product is
good they just need to convince you that
other people think it's good if you've
read Amazon reviews or chosen a popular
on Netflix show You' use social proof
speaking of social proof you should
subscribe to my Channel or don't do
whatever the heck you want I don't even
know why it's still say this but anyway
social proof is Category 2 on the BS
Continuum so let's talk about the way it
can be manipulative or unethical first
of all it's extremely easy for companies
to fake this fake online reviews are
pretty common same thing with fake
testimonials Plus you're relying on
someone else to do the research for you
which can be extremely dangerous I mean
check out Tom Brady here one of the
greatest football players of all time
endorsing FTX a cryptocurrency exchange
that ended up being a huge fraud at
least allegedly I don't know if it's
proven yet where many investors lost
everything involving Brady is a classic
form of social proof but look at the
tactics here y I'm in yeah sounds good
I'm in I'm in Hey Arthur I quit even if
Tom Brady doesn't convince you you've
got all these other people saying I'm in
you've got line cook surgeons plumbers
women men all of various ethnicities and
backgrounds this is very intentional
social proof is even more effective on
us when the people endorsing the product
are similar to us if we see people
similar to us doing something it doesn't
just mean that it's a good idea it also
means that it's possible for us to do it
it seems more achievable it's similar to
when Roger banister ran a mile in under
4 minutes banister trained for years to
achieve that goal but once he did it
other Runners followed suit just a few
weeks later social proof manipulation
happens in way more subtle ways as well
like this ad with Selena Gomez and her
makeup line notice the setting this is a
massive brand that brings in like $60
million a year and Selena Gomez is an
A-list celebrity you're telling me she
can't afford a good microphone and some
good lights I mean look at this one you
think they accidentally just left the
ruffled blanket on the couch by accident
this is all by Design they're leveraging
her star power and influence but they
want to make her seem more relatable to
you once again social proof is more
effective when the people promoting the
product seem like our peers this is why
you need to be very skeptical about
unrehearsed testimonials ads and
tutorials like this so yeah social proof
can be really manipulative but it isn't
always bad online reviews and
testimonials as long as they're verified
can be incredibly useful and if a
respected celebrity endorses a product
their reputation is at stake Selena
Gomez probably does really believe in
her products and as a person with a
following you live and die by your
reputation for example when I'm picking
a sponsor for my videos it's common for
me to ask my friends what they think of
it I teach product design at a
university and at the beginning of every
semester I ask my students to bring in
their favorite products one of my best
students actually happened to bring in
this wallet by exra he said that he's
owned this wallet for 3 years and it's
still good as new so a few months later
when exra approached me to sponsor this
video I knew that I could endorse their
product and good conscience build
quality feels really solid and the cards
are held securely in place the really
cool thing about this wallet is the way
that the cards fan out with the push of
a button the slim profile is also really
nice too I mean look at this giant wall
in my pocket then compare that to the
extra if you need more than five or six
cards you can also add this super slim
clip to the wallet everything is clean
secure and organized to get your own
extra wallet go check out the link in
the description below and use code
design at checkout for a 25% discount so
anyway I put this tactic in Category 2
it definitely can be abused or it can be
a good shortcut but there are bigger
storms lubing Over the Horizon as we
delve deeper into the BS Continuum
here's where things get
real designers and brand managers
leverage the influence of authority in
their messaging all the time in both
explicit and subtle ways back in the'80s
there was a really successful cough
medicine ad confident man tells you
Vic's Formula 44 will cure your cough
the man is Dr Rick Weber a character
from the hit TV show General Hospital
the actor mentions he's not a doctor but
he plays one on TV but that doesn't
really matter with his tailored suit a
confident demeanor and an authoritative
voice he plays a very convincing doctor
and Robert SE his book influence he
shines a spotlight on this ad as an
intriguing example of authority in
advertising once again the actor wasn't
a medical expert but that's why it's so
crazy because viewers Associated him
with his TV Doctor character the ad hit
gold and it was a massive hit that ran
for years this shows you how powerful
Authority is in shaping our decisions
you don't need to be a real Authority
all you need is the aura of authority
and people will follow you now using
fake authority figures to shill cough
medicine is pretty bad but it gets a lot worse
worse
medical experts started to make the
connection between lung cancer and
smoking by the 1930s in order to combat
this sentiment Camel cigarettes created
an ad in 1946 that featured doctors they
created the tagline that would make
modern-day fact Checkers heads explode
more doctors smoke camels I mean can you
imagine they don't just say the Bold
claim they use every trick in the book
to make doctors look like trustworthy
authority figures there's a sea of white
coats stethoscopes everywhere an
Entourage of scholarly looking doctors
puffing away and this is where the
harmless facade of authority turns into
a blatant cover up blurring the lines
between reality and fiction now don't
get me wrong I love a little creative
Liberty remember the fake vents from
earlier in the video but when it
completely is misaligned with reality
that's a problem especially when lives
are at stake these are more explicit
forms of showing Authority but a lot of
the times it's even more subtle in the
animal kingdom Size Matters it's common
for animals to Puff themselves up to
avoid combat mammals bristle their fur
fish expand their fins and puff up birds
flaunt their feathers the the goal is to
appear larger and more dominant instead
of risking it all in battle many animals
turn to optical illusions to puff up
their size and flex their Authority our
human instincts aren't that different
we're all hardwired to associate size
with status and Authority ever been
wowed by an apple launch event or gone
to a store to see merchandise enshrined
in glass cases brands are doing their
own version of puffing up their feathers
here these elements can craft illusions
of grandeur and strength but it's
important to look past that facade as
seini says in his book just like fur
fins and feathers these surface level
elements masterfully project an air of
substance and gravitas that may not
actually be real bottom line next time
you see a company flexing its Authority
take a second look is there substance or
is it just fluff now of course not all
expert opinions or authority figures are
bad sometimes all you need to do is ask
yourself two questions number one is the
person actually an authority figure in
this space and number two what does this
person gain by convincing us of this
information now it's getting more
serious category 4
and a bunch of hurricanes and
this is a damaso panta it was
bought for $2,500 in 1976 but just 2
years later the car's value skyrocketed
to an astonishing
$300,000 but why it was a terribly
unreliable car suffered a lot of wear
and tear and most intriguing of all were
the bullet holes that pierced the
steering wheel how does a used car with
bullet holes in it sell for more than a
100 times its original price it all
comes down to scarcity Elvis Presley the
king of rock and roll was in a heated
argument with his girlfriend Linda
Thompson when Linda left Elvis stormed
off and jumped into the car probably
hoping to dramatically peel out of the
parking lot but instead the car wouldn't
start so in a moment of fiery passion he
took his Colt 45 and shot at the
steering wheel yes those bullet holes
are the very Echoes of Elvis's Fiery
Soul and this is where the scarcity
principal takes Center Stage those
bullet holes serve as an autograph
they're a symbol of el is raw and
Untamed Spirit captured forever in steel
there's never going to be another Elvis
so this panta isn't just a regular car
anymore it's a canvas that captured a
moment in the King's life this is a
testament to how scarcity turns the
ordinary into the extraordinary shout
out to my buddy rafie for telling me
about this story this is common with
collectible items like coins limited
edition Pokémon cards and even rare
stamps but design and branding teams use
the same principle of scarcity to sell
you all kinds of things when booking.com
first start Ed showing a limited number
of hotel rooms at a given price people
started snatching up rooms so fast that
customer service thought it was a
systems error but the increase in sales
came from showing a limited Supply
Shoppers who would normally be sort of
on the fence about booking a room
quickly turned into buyers things can
get so competitive that people could
often wait days to get a new pair of
Nikes or the next iPhone it's no secret
that we want what we can't have not only
do we want the same item more when it's
scarce but we want it more when we're in
competition for it this is classic fear
of missing out there's nothing wrong
with actual scarcity If an item is not
available because of supply chain or
manufacturing issues that's
understandable but in most cases there's
no reason why Apple can't make more
phones or fashion brands can't make more
clothes in anticipation of a launch they
intentionally create an extremely
limited supply of shoes in order to
create what is known as artificial
scarcity artificial scarcity brings out
some of our worst Tendencies logic flies
out the window and everything is reduced
greed in the same way that big
authoritative branding flexes are like
an animal instinctually puffing up their
feathers artificial scarcity puts us
into a primal Feeding Frenzy mindset
we're operating on a very simple premise
that is true most of the time things
that are hard to get are often better
than things that are easy to get this is
a very general rule that holds true and
that's why scar tactics are so effective
it's also one reason why a lot of retail
stores bring only a couple items out to
the storefront at a time not being able
to see all the items in stock gives you
no indication of whether or not there
are any left plus you might feel the
need to reciprocate with the store clerk
after they went through the trouble of
finding the item for you it's so easy to
get swept up into the frenzy of course
the best way to combat this is to think
to yourself do I actually want this
thing because it's rare or do I just
want it because I need it for its
functional utility if it's the ladder
you can calm down if it's the former try
to assess it more calmly the bottom line
is that scarcity and loss aversion are
some of the most effective design and
marketing tactics there are purely
because of how emotionally triggering
they are but it's nothing compared to
the next level in the Continuum this
isn't just any normal hurricane it's a
Tempest let's talk about the great Nike
barbecue of 2018 a roaring blaze of
sneakers and corporate moral High Ground
Nike he wanted to partner with Colin
Kaepernick for an ad campaign Kaepernick
was a very skilled American football
player but he's probably most famous for
taking a knee during the national anthem
in order to bring attention to racial
Injustice and police brutality Nike
decided to make Kaepernick their
spokesperson and created the tagline
believe in
something even if it means sacrificing
everything after these incidents it
isn't clear whether the NFL blacklisted
him or if he quit on his own accord but
one thing for certain is that he was a a
very controversial figure so why would
Nike sponsor such a controversial
athlete potentially alienating a huge
chunk of Their audience Nike was trying
to build a sense of unity with a segment
of its audience who agreed with the
Kaepernick ad campaign this might not
sound like much but I assure you it's a
very very powerful technique in unified
tribal groups there's a blurring between
the self and others in your tribe
neuroscientists have an answer to this
phenomenon it turns out if you're asked
to imagine yourself and someone from
your tribe the same brain circuitry
lights up so thoughts of self and tribe
members blend together and suddenly your
identities are interwoven like a
tapestry inside your mind this doesn't
happen with people who aren't tribe
members unified tribal groups tend to
act in solidarity with each other we
like each other more we trust each other
more and we're more likely to help each
other out Brands know that if you view
them as part of your tribe you'll be far
more likely to buy their products so
with Nike it's really not about the
shoes or the clothes the swoosh is just
a banner under which the tribe for
racial equality and social justice
gathers they made themselves part of the
tribe's Fabric and suddenly everyone
wears Nike as if it's the uniform of
social change the purchase of a product
is like a ticket into a club when you
buy a product for Better or For Worse
you're making a statement to yourself
and to the outer World about what you
believe in it's a social signaling
device even the choice to actively avoid
it and not participate in it is its own
kind of signaling device for example
driving a Tesla is basically a signaling
device that you're part of the in group
of young ambitious wealthy Tech workers
Patagonia is another similar signal of
environmental Consciousness even my
leather jacket did I ever tell you that
this here jacket represents a symbol of
my individuality and my belief in
personal freedom it's all social
signaling so what about the people who
disagreed with the ad campaign well
remember how I called this the Nike
barbecue of 2018 lots of people hated
this ad and they decided to post about
it on Twitter a domain where rationality
takes a back seat and outrage has its
foot firmly planted on the gas pedal
people were boycotting Nike by burning
shoes they've already paid for in the
end this outrage was just a bunch of
free publicity for Nike Plus the people
who agreed with Nike's views doubled
down and unified with their tribal group
if you know about the unity principle
this makes perfect sense an attack on
the brand is a personal attack on the
individuals who support the brand all
said and done this resulted in $ billion
in profits for Nike That's The Power of
unity and tribalism but when companies
jump into social causes it's worth
pondering how genuine it is because at
the end of the day companies exist to
make profits you could make an argument
that they're trying to build awareness
For A Cause but I'm very skeptical Nike
doesn't exactly have the greatest track
record when it comes to working
conditions and if it wasn't profitable
to sponsor Kaepernick Nike would find a
way to drop him Nike is certainly not
the only company to use the unity
principle either you've got Chick-fil-A
Gillette Jeremy's chocolate Pepsi Black
Rifle Coffee Company Dove soap Patriot
mobile all on varying ends of the
political Spectrum if we take
Chick-fil-A as an example the fast food
chain has been known for its stance on
lgbtq issues and support for
organizations that oppose same-sex
marriage but in 2019 they announced that
they would no longer donate to these
organizations mostly because of public
pressure companies are only going to
Champion a cause for as long as it's
profitable other companies have been
following suit with varying levels of
success Nike's ad was relatively
tasteful whereas other ads have faced
considerable backlash and a huge plummet
in sales things get dangerous for a
brand when they inject themselves into a
cultural political or environmental
issue outside of their expertise and
understanding when companies take this
route they have to be really tactful in
the way they approach it because it can
easily be exposed for what it is an
advertisement meant to sell you a
product but most of the time companies
that use the unity principle are a lot
more subtle about it in fact most of the
time it has nothing to do with politics
at all I mean let's look at the Selena
Gomez makeup ad again this isn't just
social proof it's a calculated move to
evoke the unity principle forging a
connection that makes you feel as if you
and Selena are in the same tribe watch
the intro Papa
you're in my video I pranked you it's
almost like she's casually spending a
day with her family and she's in a homey
setting that mirrors the everyday life
of her target audience a bit later she
says this I wanted to create a line
where it was a for people like me it
doesn't get more obvious than that I
mean Selena wants you to think to
yourself she's one of us it's a lot more
subtle than the politically charged ads
but when you feel that Bond you're more
likely to trust and support each other
Selena's marketing team is banking on
that now look I'm going open-minded guy
if finding purpose in your preferred
brand or makeup or shoes or cars makes
you happy that's great but let's
remember that brands are not benevolent
Protectors of values they're in it for
the money purchases have meaning but
nowhere to draw the line if you find
yourself setting fire to your favorite
shoes because you don't like the
company's new ad you're probably taking
it way too far same thing if you feel
the need to defend a multi-billion
dollar corporation on social media trust
me they'll be fine without you no
Brand's attempt at Unity is important
enough to get worked up about that's
exactly what they they want you to do
anyway and that's why I find these
techniques especially harmful
essentially Unity tactics are used to
build a cult with their Brand's values
at the centerpiece of your world but
brands are not a standin for real
spiritual meaning or a sense of real
Community now what if a brand told you
they were manipulating you is this
better or
worse there's some companies that don't
even hide the fact that they're
basically building a cult it's as if
these brands are playing 4D chess with
our brains and while part ofy wants to
give them Applause for their sheer
audacity another part wonders if these
companies are just laughing at us for
being so gullible let's dive into the
deep end with liquid death a name that
suggests some sort of horrifically cheap
liquor or maybe just poison but no
liquid death is just plain water encased
in a can that looks like it was ripped
straight out of an 80s metal bands
merchandise store as a commodity this is
as basic as it gets water covers 71% of
the earth and somehow we found a way to
Brand It liquid death branding is an
exercise and absurdity that's so over
the top you can't help but laugh at it
they engages some seriously dark hum and
the water is super fun to drink because
the packaging looks like a beer can and
yes I know how stupid that sounds but
it's true it's really fun to drink
they're not even trying to be subtle
with manipulating you either their
marketing VP is called the VP of cult
indoctrination it's like they're saying
yeah we're brainwashing you here's your
card the real kicker is that it kind of
works but is this brutal honesty in
marketing genuine or just another layer
of manipulation it's like they're
Whispering we're in on the joke together
but are we it's hard to say I do want to
acknowledge that liquid death is
actually pretty good water their claims
are in line with reality which makes it
feel a lot more authentic and they also
take a portion of profits and donate it
to cleaning up Plastics in the ocean I
have to say liquid death's brand of
honesty is both ridiculous and kind of
brilliant it's like they've harnessed
the raw energy of 100 internet trolls to
sell us water my only critique is that
their claims about their environmental
friendliness are a little bit dubious
yes aluminum is very recyclable and
plastic bottles are worse for the
environment but I wouldn't say aluminum
cans are good for the environment
drinking tap water is generally going to
be a better option than any packaged
water I wanted to bring this up because
I think that in order for a brand to be
low on the BS Spectrum its claims need
to be as in line with reality as
possible but besides that liquid death
is actually pretty low on the BS
Spectrum in despite of being completely
over the top they mostly do back up just
about everything they say but remember
it's still just water in a fancy can
some companies take it a step further
not only by making it clear that they're
trying to manipulate you and build a
cult falling but also making fun of you
for it dbrand has a Manifesto book where
they openly admit that it's just a giant
piece of propaganda and they're
practically patting you on the back for
being stupid enough to buy it I mostly
bought it for this video
though at least that's what I tell
myself as if that wasn't enough they
even have an extortion portal where you
can just send them money and get nothing
back in return I could tell you what
dbrand sells but honestly does it really
even matter and as if that wasn't crazy
enough cars Against Humanity sold over
30,000 boxes of actual BS like actual
poop from a bull mailed it to customers
and made over
$180,000 from it it was meant to be a
commentary on unnecessary spending in
our consumer culture but it's not hard
to see the irony here so why does this
work well here's the thing the best
companies understand that branding and
design is about creating meaning
remember we don't value things we value
what they mean to us check out this
lowly $1 bill there's a way to make this
$1 bill worth more than $1 if you
somehow manage to Corner Bill Gates and
Warren Buffett in an elevator and ask
them to scribble their names on this
thing the value of this is Multiplied
significantly we attach meaning to
things through symbolism and
storytelling this is what company
branding capitalizes on a brand is like
an autographed dollar it adds value
through the stories and symbols
associated with it people don't just buy
the product they buy into the story the
product represents all of the objects
and things in our lives are like
repositories of meaning good brands
understand this and sometimes all it
takes is one descriptive word to change
everything it's why liquid death doesn't
just say that their product is water
it's Mountain water from the Austrian
Alps the Austrian Alps has an entire
Legacy and Vivid History attached to it
a description or a label directs a
person's attention towards certain
features in a product and helps bring
out a certain Concept in our mind the
nature of our attention affects the
nature of our experience this goes Way
Beyond just names it can encaps at an
entire Brand's ethos at the end of the
day is Apple selling metal electronic
rectangles or are they selling tools
that allow you to express yourself
creatively is Nike just selling foot
protection or are they allowing you to
reach your full athletic potential each
version of these stories are true to
varying degrees but some companies take
it way too far for my personal taste I
mean apparently this Pepsi logo is based
on Earth's magnetic fields and
gravitational pull and if that's true
great I'm all for expressing ideas in a
subtle way using visual hand but after a
certain point it just comes off as
psychotic overanalyzing so is there a
problem here I mean it depends adding
meaning to things isn't necessarily A
Bad Thing and our mental shortcuts exist
for a reason they're insanely effective
a person in the modern era has to make
35,000 decisions in a day Meanwhile
we're so overwhelmed that we're like
cats in a laser pointer disco
frantically chasing everything while
catching nothing when we're stressed
tired or distracted we just don't have
the time to analyze every little detail
so we tap into the mental shortcuts like
Authority scarcity etc etc to help us
make decisions this is why good
photography matters it's why having
three stripes on a toothpaste matters
it's why good packaging and good design
and good branding matters when these
mental shortcuts are based on reliable
information it's great but as you've
seen designers and brand managers try to
exploit these shortcuts for their own
gain they'll use counterfeit evidence or
Shady tactics to make us buy their
products under false pretenses so why
does this even happen I mean it's easy
to say that the employees and owners of
these companies are evil Psychopaths and
maybe that's true some of the time but I
think it's a gross oversimplification
most of the individuals inside the
companies that I've worked with were
genuinely good people and they cared
about doing the right thing a few things
you're likely to hear anytime employees
are having an argument inside of a
boardroom are questions like what's best
for the customer what's best for the
local community or even what's best for
the planet these are all Noble causes
but teams often can't come to an
agreement on these goals it's not
uncommon for teams within companies to
have conflicting or even opposing goals
the one common ground is that they both
work at the company and they want it to
be successful so they turn to a question
that's much more straightforward much
easier to measure and far more Sinister
what's best for the company as soon as
we ask that question it's all over
because the answer is always whatever is
going to make the company the most money
a company is just a machine existing as
its own independent abstract entity they
optimize profits at all costs sometimes
at the expense of their employees the
planet and the End customer companies
demand constant scale and growth even in
Humane mission-driven companies when
push comes to shove we need to be able
to support our family we want to buy a
house we want stability in our lives if
the decision is between feeding your
family versus stretching the truth a
little bit most people are going to
choose the latter like many issues that
I see in companies the problem is rooted
in fear this is a tough problem to solve
but one thing I found is that if you
don't live in fear you can act more
authentically sometimes as a designer it
can be hard for me to figure out whether
I'm being manipulative with my design
work or not one thing that helped me was
to define manipulation more clearly
within this context manipulating is
influencing someone for your benefit
without their consent contrast this with
educating someone educating someone is
influencing someone for their benefit
with their consent you want to educate
not manipulate I first heard this from
my friend Anan and I think it's a good
guideline for checking my own behavior
I'm from perfect but as a designer I
think this is a good question to ask
yourself every once in a while Commerce
is an inescapable reality but we can
still try to leave a legacy behind
that's not only prosperous but also kind
compassionate and wise branding and
design can definitely stretch the truth
but it's like a magic show there's a lot
of smoke and mirrors it's okay if the
audience is in on the joke and suspends
their disbelief in order to enjoy the
show it's only a problem when companies
try to trick you into thinking it's real
magic so I've saved the best for last
brandeston and satire the Pinnacle of
human achievement the shirt to end all
shirts the shirt t-shirt it's like
branding took a long look in the mirror
and had an existential crisis in a world
The Branding Illusions this t-shirt is
the mirror that says look at you buying
that shirt and you splendidly self-aware
retort yes indeed I am but there's more
with the curing off by just a bit this
shirt will make designers flee in fear
this is not just clothing it's designer
repellent want to clear the room at a
hipster design Gathering faster than
setting a rooma loose with a chainsaw
tape to it this is the shirt for you if
you want the full experience of a shirt
with proper letter spacing you can get
the correctly cerned t-shirt for just $2
more that is a bargain for good design
now for those of you who are serious
about good design I offer you the fancy
font shirt like many other designer
Brands the mere presence of a fancy logo
increases the value considerably for
$500 wait 500 hold on for $50 the fancy
font shirt has a font so Exquisite it
might as well be forged from the tears
of Georgio Armani himself sometimes
that's all it takes to elevate the value
of a commodity slap a designer logo and
boom you need a mortgage for your
T-shirt and the Crown Jewel of the
entire shirt t-shirt line I present to
you the design Theory Galactic glyphs
t-shirt it says shirt but it's in a
madeup alien language that's right I
created an entire alien language just
for this t-shirt line this shirt doesn't
just say shirt on it if you look closely
there's a message underneath this font
is so fancy you can't even read it
without a special decoder that is only
deci aable by the design Theory
fanatical tribe I'm only selling 20 of
these and at $100 I promise you'll be
rewarded for your trust in the design
Theory cult I mean brand in the design
Theory brand maybe there's a cryptic
message that will reward you for your
efforts what will you find wisdom
Fortune perhaps after you buy this shirt
which you will not regret believe me
just DM me your order number on
Instagram for the decoder and become
part of the unified design Theory tribe
now here's the deal for all the shirts
I'm only selling them for the next 40
days once they're gone they're gone I
don't have time to manage sales for
longer than that I'm only one person and
I need to focus on my other design work
that isn't completely insane if you like
these videos the purchase helps me to
continue to make more of them go click
the link in the description or head to
design theory. store Adorn yourselves in
the fabric of irony and rebellious
kerning as always you're free to do as
you wish I'll still appreciate you no
matter what and on the note of
appreciation big shout out to my patrons
and Discord for helping me with this
video If if you want to support the
channel another way besides buying
t-shirts that are completely insane
check out my patreon you get access to
over 80 pages of my research from this
video research notes from past videos
special updates and you'll eventually
enable me to create more Niche content
that's tailored to exactly what you and
I want to talk about rather than what's
going to get the most views the link for
the patreon is in the description have a
great day everyone [Music]
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