Secret Sauce

6.

Emotional

Warm, Arousing, and Plot-Driven

Whether you want someone to buy an ocean liner or a brand of tissues you need to appeal to their emotions. According to Canadian neurologist Donald Caine, “The essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action while reason leads to conclusions.”⁶⁷

Even the blandest of subjects can be infused with emotion if the right strings are pulled. Take Texas’ brilliant and stunningly successful campaign to slash litter on its highways. The initial advertising campaign Texas officials used to try to reduce littering was a total failure. Most of litterers were aged 18-24 and ignored ...