Being Inconsistently Consistent

Here’s a technique we learned at the Wizard Academy in Austin, Texas.

It’s the idea of being inconsistently consistent…

This is a tool of persuasion used to hold attention of your audience.

Here’s a great example:

That video above shows the evolution of the intro for “The Simpsons.”

The creators trained their audience to pay attention to the opening scenes to see how they vary each episode.

Bart writes something different on the chalkboard each time and the family comes together at the end and does something different each time.

You can use this technique to get people to pay attention to your tv show intro.

You can also use it to get people to pay attention to your ads.

5 Hour Energy created this commercial about a year back:

They created a separate variation of this as well.

In the other ad the Pyramid of 5 Hour Energy would tumble to the desk.

It was the only real difference between the two commercials

That inconsistency helps grab your attention because you’re not sure what version you’re watching.

The intentional inconsistency helps to keep attention on your ad.