19. EXAGGERATION AND DEPRIVATION
* As Goethe once enigmatically said, “Everything has been thought of before, but the problem is to think of it again.” Although it’s unlikely that he envisaged the iphone.
* The essence of this technique is to significantly over-exaggerate the benefits of a product, or push to ludicrous extremes what happens if it isn’t present at all.
* Let’s say a food product for kids has healthy ingredients, but is similar to those of competitors. Exaggerating the benefits of this to suggest superhuman powers, or the strength of an elephant, might lead to an interesting route.
* In the deprivation route, we envisage a world in which the product doesn’t exist, thereby pointing out its vital role.
* Years ago Dunlop ran a commercial showing a couple playing tennis. Gradually all the things made by the company disappeared – the net, the court, the rackets, the ball, and finally their clothes. This elegantly showed the full range of their products.
* A similar hyperbolic route is to ask everyone for their worst possible idea, and use those to examine the extremes of the brief.
EXERCISE: Choose one product benefit. First, push to extremes via exaggeration what that benefit could be. Examine whether the hyperbole around the new thought leads somewhere interesting. Repeat for other benefits if helpful. Next, imagine what would happen if users were deprived of the product completely. Does that lead to a new way of expressing its value?