Great stories aren’t great because of their telling. They’re great because of what they don’t tell. Or wait to tell later.
Such stories have a focal point based on principles. The principles are displayed in the values and message of a story. When you stick to your principles, there’s no need to go into a lot of nonsense. It’s not the telling. It’s the manner of the telling.
HEMINGWAY. LOST. PULP FICTION. The art is in the timing, the revealing, the enticement of what is around the next bend. Great stories don’t try to tell you everything all at once. They lead you in.
While involved with some book/film projects, I’m fortunate enough to pay my bills with branding and web work. It’s really interesting, because I’m lucky to see constant reminders of this lesson.
Most brands, most companies — they don’t get it.
If you went to a dinner party and some dude got all in your face trying to get you to sign up, do, or buy something — when you have never seen them before in your life — you probably would not be like, ‘Yes, fantastic, when can I call you?’ Rather, you’re going to slyly whisper ‘Who is this douchebag?’ to your wife, along with ‘When can we get out of here?’
Why? Because you don’t know them. You don’t trust them.
If they then hung on your coat sleeve, trying to drag you into staying, you’d likely become angry, annoyed, or freaked out. If nothing else, you’d be sure to avoid that person’s company whenever possible.
Despite this simple truth, which anyone with the slightest bit of emotional intelligence should be able to understand, there are huge mountain ranges of bad marketing that exist out there that employ these exact tactics. Such marketing offers no story to believe in, they only want you to buy buy buy now now now, without giving a good reason why why why. As such, they all come across like multi-level marketers. Pathetic, desperate. Too on the nose.
Without principles. With principles, it’s possible to create a story and characters that express mythological archetypes that most people will relate to in a very personal and immediate way. In the business world, those characters might have other names: products, features, and services.
Without principles, there’s nothing cogent to their expression. The result is the reactionary, spam-like, corny garbage that most marketing becomes.
Then you actually come across ads like this one. It’s a thing of beauty. A perfect story. A compelling, emotional introduction that works to win hearts — not minds. After an expected challenge, there’s a twist — one reminiscent of the mythic hero. It’s even divided, almost exactly, into 3 acts. This is the journey a story must take. And then, at the end, this emotional plea is perfectly wrapped up in the brand message.
By making the communication — The Story, The Big Idea — front and center, the reveal at the end makes the message more impactful, memorable, and lasting.
Those just happen to be three key characteristics a great story.
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