You've probably heard the saying "there's no such thing as bad publicity."

While that's a bit of an exaggeration, it does point to an interesting truth - being noticed and talked about, even for silly or bizarre reasons, can actually help sell products and build a brand's popularity.

Companies are realizing that cultivating a quirky, notorious image can make them stand out from the competition in powerful ways.

Even useless, absurd gimmicks can define a brand more than practical features.

Standing out from the Noise

The Weird Blue Slide

In the "Diary of a CEO" Steven Bartlett explains how his marketing agency got tons of press coverage simply for having a massive blue slide in their office. Every article about them mentioned the silly slide, essentially giving them free marketing for their brand's outrageous office design.

The weird helps you stand apart from the noise. It creates an identify in a sea of similar things.

Tesla and its Crazy Modes

Instead of boring old "comfort" and "sport" driving modes, Tesla has modes called "Insane," "Ludicrous," and "Ludicrous Plus." They also offer bizarre features like "Bioweapon Defense Mode" and a fart sound machine. These ridiculous names and options become marketing themselves by grabbing attention.

In a world of monotonous products, a little silliness can make your brand infinitely more memorable and discussed. Outrageous stories and absurd decisions can generate more buzz than anything strictly practical.

Habituation turns our Marketing Into Noise

Our brains are wired to tune out things that seem repetitive or familiar, a neurological phenomenon called "habituation." We naturally notice threats, surprise, and novelty far more than mundane wallpaper.

That's why alarming, animated, or exaggerated images and phrases perform so much better in marketing than bland, neutral ones that just blend into the background noise. Bypassing our brain's habituation filter requires startling people's attention somehow.

Repetition Breeds Tune-Outs

Another effect of habituation is the lack of attention we end up paying to signals that are repeated.

Yes, repeated signal harm marketing efforts, not aid them, especially if they do not stand out.

Even great marketing phrases can become over-exposed to the point of becoming ignored background noise.

"Black Friday" sales have become so ubiquitous that the term has lost its attention-grabbing power. Companies have resorted to now conducting Pre-Black Friday deals to overcome this habituation effect.

Cracking through the Habituation Filter

To overcome habituation, brands have to keep changing up their messaging with novel, thought-provoking specifics.

Instead of a generic "subscribe" call-to-action, citing an unexpected statistic like "70% of you don't subscribe" jolts the brain's attention.Steven Bartlett uses a very specific framework in his YouTube videos asking viewers to subscribe.

Here is an example:

Congratulations DOAC gang we've made some progress. 63% of you that listen to this podcast regularly don't subscribe which is down from 69% [ Component 1]. Our goal is 50%,so if you've ever liked any of the videos we've posted if you like this channel can you do me a quick favor [Component 2] and hit the subscribe button? It helps this channel more than you know and the bigger the channel gets as you've seen the bigger the guests get [Component 3]. Thank you and enjoy this episode.

If you notice, there are three components to this request:

1. Unexpected Specifics

   Steven very clearly articulates numbers. This immediately blows past the habituation filter- because now you have the attention of the analytical pre-frontal cortex.
   He also sets a clear number- a target- to ask for his audience to help get him there.

2. Making Personal Request

   Steven uses reciprocity before making the request.

   He asks for viewers who have liked previous videos to help them out by subscribing. A small favor for past value, sounds like a deal right?

3. Promising Future Rewards

   The last piece of the jigsaw is the promise of future rewards. In this case, its bigger and better guests, something avid listeners of the pod will surely love.

   Its a perfect way to position it as a win-win.

Conclusion: Don't be a Wallpaper

A little weirdness, creativity, and rule-breaking can elevate a brand to marketing superstardom by leveraging the psychological quirks of how human minds allocate their attention.