I am going to demonstrate why Buckley's strategy to use a flaw as brand attribute was a safe bet.

1. Revealing
a
flaw
of
your
own
product...as
a
brand
attribute.
Gone
crazy?
Imagine
that
the
biggest
"flaw"
of
a
product
is
proudly
advertised
in
its
official
tagline.
It
sounds
crazy
right?
Imagine
a
cough
syrup
manufacterer
stating
in
its
very
own
ads
that
it's
main
product
tastes
just
like:
snail
trail
accumulation,
trash
bag
leakage,
cardio
workout
perspiration,
pig
tongue
scrapings,
used
mouthwash,
spring
break
hot
tub
water
or
public
restroom
puddle.
Say
it,
#WTF.
Difficult
to
believe
and
yet
a
#truestory,
the
one
of
Canadian-­‐born
company
Buckley's.
Their
famous
tagline
"It
tastes
awful.
And
it
works"
is
a
winner.
It
means
more
sales
and
bigger
market
share.
Check
this
is
little
selection
I
made
of
the
print
ads
they
used
over
the
years:
-­‐
Our
largest
bottle
is
200ml.
Anything
more
would
be
cruel.
-­‐
People
swear
by
it.
And
at
it.
-­‐
I'm
dedicated
to
ensuring
every
new
batch
of
Buckley's
tastes
as
bas
as
the
last.
-­‐
Made
with
oil
of
ine
needles.
What
did
you
expect
it
to
taste
like?
-­‐
Your
cough
won't
know
what
hit
it,
neither
will
you.
-­‐
Open
wide
and
say
"@#$%&*!"

2. Buckley's
incorporated
"awful
taste"
as
a
brand
attribute
in
the
early
’80s,
when
they
found
out
after
a
market
research,
that
their
target
had
this
perception
about
the
product.
The
goal
is
clear,
it's
the
ol'
"let's
turn
a
weakness
into
a
strength".
But,
were
the
advertisers
playing
with
fire
or
was
that
a
safe
bet?
Is
there
any
hidden
motivations
that
trigger
people
to
buy
the
syrup?
I
am
going
to
demonstrate
it
in
five
points:
1-­
The
Attention
No
need
to
say
that
the
message
is
odd
and
surprising.
It
doesn't
seem
to
make
sense
so
it's
impressive.
We
must
admit
that
the
ads
grab
our
attention
and
make
people
speak
about
them.
In
nowadays
terms,
we
may
say
this
tagline
is
viral.
It's
funny
and
at
the
same
time,
we
may
remember
it.
2-­
The
Dare
The
slogan
is
essentially,
a
dare.
Challenges
are
very
strong
motivators.
People
need
to
know
if
the
taste
is
as
awful
as
they
say.
So
in
fact,
it's
not
a
turn-­‐off,
it's
an
invitation
for
validation.
3-­
The
Balance
It
would
be
very
foolish
to
state
that
a
product
needs
to
have
a
negative
brand
attribute
to
increase
market
share
and
sales.
As
you
have
guessed,
you
can
only
do
it
in
a
very
special
circumstances.
First
of
all,
you
have
to
analyse
the
flaw
and
put
in
perspective.
How
big
is
it?
Transcendence,
the
state
of
being
beyond
the
range
of
normal
perception,
is
crucial
here.
In
Buckley's
case,
we
are
kind
of
used
that
cough
syrups
taste
bad.
This
fact
makes
this
flaw
lose
some
points.
Anyway,
you
still
have
to
put
it
in
a
balance
with
a
positive
strength
that
beats
it.
The
good
claim
is
"And
it
works".
Note
the
use
of
"And"
after
a
point
instead
of
"but"
and
no
point.
Putting
a
"but"
in
there
would
have
been
unwise,
in
the
other
hand,
the
"and"
after
a
dot,
puts
the
two
sentences
in
the
two
pans
of
the
balance
scale.
The
strategy
here
is
to
make
the
second
phrase
outweigh
the
first
by
using
the
first
to
reinforce
the
second.
How?
The
answer
is
in
the
nature
itself
of
the
first
phrase.
Studies
demonstrate
that
mentioning
a
drawback
in
your
arguments,
against
your
self-­‐interest
or
product,
create
"the
perception
that
you
and
your
organization
are
honest
and
trustworthy.
This
puts
you
in
a
position
to
be
more
persuasive
when
promoting
your
genuine
strengths"
(Goldstein,
Martin,
Cialdini).

3. So
this
is
what
happens,
by
saying
the
first
phrase,
they
give
more
credibility
to
the
second.
This
tactic
has
been
applied
not
only
in
marketing
(Volkswagen,
Listerine,
Avis)
but
also
in
Civil
Trials.
4-­
The
Pain
David
B.
Morris,
in
an
article
titled
"belief
and
narrative"
for
Science
Magazine
in
2005
state
that
the
famous
"no
pain,
no
gain"
is
an
American
modern
mini-­‐narrative
that
compresses
the
story
of
a
protagonist
who
understands
that
the
road
to
achievement
runs
only
through
hardship.
And
it
makes
sense;
If
you
want
to
become
an
architect,
you
know
that
you
need
to
study
a
lot.
If
you
want
to
run
a
marathon,
you
know
that
you
have
to
train
a
lot.
So
Buckley's
say:
if
you
want
to
get
your
cough
healed,
you
have
to
taste
a
nasty
syrup.
This
card
is
also
played.
5-­
The
Magic
Let's
speak
about
magic
now.
Let's
enter
the
fascinating
world
of
deep
psychological
factors
that
influence
the
perception
and
effectiveness
of
medicine.
The
colour
of
the
box,
the
shape
of
the
pills,
its
name
or
the
way
it
is
administrated
influence
the
effectiveness.
The
power
of
the
mind.
A
Placebo
effect
is
"the
tendency
of
any
medication
or
treatment,
even
an
inert
or
ineffective
one,
to
exhibit
results
simply
because
the
recipient
believes
that
it
will
work".
Studies
have
found
that
a
placebo
injection
is
more
effective
than
a
placebo
pill.
Why
is
that?
According
doctor
Ben
Goldacre,
author
of
the
bestseller
"Bad
Science",
is
because
of
the
injection
feels
like
more
dramatic
intervention.
The
more
dramatic
is
the
ritual,
the
more
effective
it
will
be
or,
better
said,
it
may
be
perceived.
For
above
reasons,
Buckley's
interest
is
to
present
its
syrup
as
the
worst
in
taste.
It's
a
genius
marketing
campaign.
Also,
a
safe
bet.
Carles
Roca-­‐Font
September
2013