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April 29, 2004
Laughing our way to new attitudes & behaviors
After my captology class this week, some students showed me The Meatrix, a funny online animation about the evils of factory farming (a pig plays the Keanu Reeves character). We watched the cartoon story a couple times, laughing at the elements of parody, while being exposed to persuasive messages all along the way. It worked. What gives humor persuasive power? Here's what I say: 1. You are more likely to pay attention. (Hey, it's funny)2. You are less likely to argue back. (C'mon, it's just a joke)
3. You will tend to like the persuader, giving them more power to influence you.
4. You will feel happier, which opens your mind to new ideas and behaviors. When delivered over mobile phones, funny stories like The Meatrix will eventually outperform TV commercials in changing what people think and do. This is the future of advertising. And call it what you will, this is the future of propaganda.
Posted by at April 29, 2004 02:50 PM
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