Shadow dancing act Attraction last night won the Britain’s Got Talent final. I’m not usually a fan of these reality TV talent-scouting shows but I have to say I was rather impressed by Attraction’s performance but even more so by the way they managed to win over the British public.
Having recently read ‘Made to Stick’ by Chip and Dan Heath, Attraction were a prime example of why some ideas stick and others are quickly forgotten.
Here are FIVE reasons why Attraction won over our hearts and minds and how your product should look to do the same.
1. Be Simple
Everybody has the ability to make shadows puppets but Attraction took a well known concept to a whole new level. By collaborating with others, the illusions are far more impressive and the stories created compact so much meaning into such a small time frame using visual emotional cues – it’s “show, don’t tell” at its finest.
2. Be Unexpected
As Chip and Dan proclaimed, “the most basic way to get someone’s attention is this: Break a pattern.” Never before have we seen the medium of shadows used to tell stories and nobody expected that they could create such definable shapes with their bodies. By forcing the audience to question, “how on earth did they do that,” they instantly gained our attention.
*#EggGirl is a prime example of what happens when you break a pattern, she trended on Twitter five minutes later.
3. Connect Emotionally
We all remember things better when they provoke emotion. Attraction used highly relatable stories of human triumph, love lost and love gained to pull at our heartstrings. It’s these emotional ideas that make people care by association and is probably what influenced the British public to pick up their phones and vote.
4. Tell Stories
Stories themselves are a kind of mental simulation that help us to manage our own emotions. Attraction performed common life themes and let us take a moment to think about experiences we usually choose to avoid. The shadows allowed us to fill in the blank spaces with our own connections and let our minds explore the possibilities, a kind of television therapy lesson, suddenly we felt connected.
5. Be Credible
I believe Attraction sealed the deal for the win with their semi final trailer in which Zoltan expressed his motivation for their latest performance. By using his mothers death and child’s birth as the basis to their new story this allowed the audience to see that this man was willing to bear his soul and be vulnerable at the expense of serving his audience.
In my opinion, Attraction’s final performance was their least entertaining and this was due to them veering away from these five principles. Luckily they had already captured their audience’s hearts and minds weeks earlier and so a patriotic (emotional) performance was enough to seal the deal.
Do you agree or am I just reading into this too much? Let me know in the comments below!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOZS_Vq6eKw]Suggested Books For Further Reading:
