The Power of Branding: Understanding the Sinister Science of Selling
Branding Case Studies: How Famous Brands Use Psychology to Mindf**k Everyone to Buy
We humans like to think of ourselves as highly rational consumers who can make well-informed choices when it comes to buying. What if I tell you that is so far from the truth that it is downright scary?
The truth is that for decades, major brands have employed an arsenal of psychological marketing tactics to override our logical thinking brain and leave us powerless against the urge to spend. What if I tell you that even as highly rational consumers, all our buying decisions are constantly being shaped by the hidden hands of marketing manipulation?
With each billboard ad, product label, and social media influencer, brands have capitalised on scientifically proven principles that propel us into a spending frenzy, often for goods we never truly needed in the first place.
So just how deep does the consumer manipulation rabbit hole go? Let us pull back the curtain and learn how some big-name brands have used these devious marketing manipulations to mindf**k the best of us to Say Yes to the Purchase.
1. Visual Shorthand and Perception Twisting
The Nike “Swoosh” check mark is a masterclass in simple, yet powerful example of visual shorthand. It has become a symbol representing peak athletic performance and elite sporting culture. Nike’ intense use of this logo, coupled with their “Just Do It” tagline, and years upon years of creative storytelling has allowed them to cultivate an aura of supreme quality and sporting perseverance around their products —regardless if they are just ordinary t-shirts or sneakers.
Nike is doing what all brands are doing — fueling excessive materialism and a societal fixation on heavily branded goods as status symbols.
Automotive brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus etc often use sleek, futuristic design cues (curves, fins, vents) and lavish interior shots as trusted visual shorthand in their advertising to create a perception of cutting-edge technology, power, prestige, and aspiration.
Fast food giants like McDonald's, Burger King, KFC etc are masters of manipulating our perceptions by employing a sophisticated visual strategy. Even from a young age, we are bombarded with fast food ads showing loving families and friends joyfully bonding over visually perfect, mouthwatering meals.
This made-up imagery cleverly masks the truth that in actual fact – most fast foods are mass-produced, heavily processed foods and sugary drinks, often made with low-quality ingredients. Through this twisting of reality, fast food brands (& their ad agencies) have conflated their unhealthy, factory-created products with warm feelings of human connection and wholesome nourishment — powerful emotional associations that screw up our rational decision-making at a subconscious level.
Summary: Brands manipulate our perception of effectiveness, taste, and spending habits through clever branding, packaging, and advertising imagery, creating a gap between marketing claims and reality.
2. Social Proof Manipulation
The smart human in us might not want to admit it— but we humans have been evolutionarily hardwired to mimic the herd and follow the majority of the crowd's wisdom.
E-commerce titans like Amazon masterfully skew buyer perception by amplifying positive sentiment from random reviewers, some even with questionable authenticity. These e-commerce sites also leverage product ratings, reviews, and “best seller” labels to create powerful social proof. Even if a product has mixed reviews, showing it as a top seller makes people assume it must be good based on the wisdom of the crowd.
Similarly, brands will also enlist larger-life celebrities or influencers on shadowy endorsement deals, masquerading advertisements as coveted popularity signals. The FTX cryptocurrency exchange took this to new level, recruiting A-list celebrities like Gisele Bündchen, Tom Brady, and Steph Curry with massive clout as spokespersons to legitimise their brand among the masses, creating a false sense of social proof among potential customers. Despite operating an alleged house of cards, FTX leaned on America's idolisation of fame and success stories to foster trust and FOMO. We buy because everyone else seems to be buying — a powerful cognitive distortion of reality.
“They’re really using the celebrity as a pawn to convince unsuspecting consumers to invest,”
Bonnie Patten, executive director of the consumer watchdog group Truth in Advertising.
Summary: Brands leverage social proof like user ratings/reviews, influencer marketing, and “best seller” labels to create a herd mentality. They also use high celebrity endorsements to create a sense of relatability and trust, manipulating consumer choices.
3. Artificial Scarcity and the Desire for Exclusivity
Nothing amplifies consumer impulsive purchases like access to a specific product is limited or fleeting. It is a well-known Jedi-marketing hack to offer limited-edition products or promotions to generate excitement and exclusivity.
However, some brands weaponise this fear of missing out (FOMO) despite the products being utterly ordinary in availability. Supreme, the streetwear brand, intentionally produce limited numbers of their clothing + accessories, creating hype and a frenzy around each “drop.” People will literally line up for hours for the latest items, driven by the fear of missing out on the exclusivity.
Similarly, Hello Kitty collectables from McDonald’s have become a cultural phenomenon, with fans clamouring to get their hands on these limited-edition items. By creating an artificial scarcity of these cute plastic toys, McDonald’s can drive sales by exploiting consumers’ fear of scarcity and encouraging hoarding behaviour.
The king of artificial shortage is undoubtedly the DeBeers diamond cartel. For over a century, DeBeers has masterfully choked global diamond supply while popularising the romantic notion that these one-of-the-kind precious stones are rare and expensive — all to justify pricing diamonds as unattainable symbols of status. This is perhaps the most elaborate and lucrative long-con played on human psychology ever orchestrated.
Summary: Brands use scarcity engineering tactics like restricting supply, exclusivity through limited runs, and perpetuating myths of rarity. This artificial scarcity creates a ‘fear of missing out’ that psychologically manipulates consumers into making urgent, impulsive purchases they may not otherwise make.
4. Perceived Value Elevation
Think a $5000 plain leather handbag or logo t-shirt is outrageous? Then you are severely underestimating the mystical power of luxury brand positioning and aura-crafting. Elite fashion houses like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Hermes have elevated commonplace goods like purses, luggage, and basic apparel into ultra-premium territory through sheer branding alchemy and sleight of hand.
From exotic origin myths like French glamour or Italian craftsmanship to celebrity endorsers as godly embodiments of their products — these fashion houses drape commonplace fashion items in an aura of exclusivity enabling them to mint money.
The ill-fated coworking startup WeWork attempted to elevate the perceived value of its office rental business through corporate mythmaking. By crafting grandiose narratives with tech jargon around entrepreneurship, community-building, and disrupting antiquated office models, WeWork managed to obscure its core business of just being a glorified office rental company into a tech-forward movement.
Summary: Many brands leverage premium materials, innovative design language, and mystique-building origin stories to elevate consumer perception of their products’ value and status. This artificial ‘upsell’ brand aura is used to justify higher pricing, even though many products often fail to provide any new intrinsic value or functionality.
5. Tribal Identity Galvanization
Increasingly brands are leaning into highly charged social issues to galvanize tribal us-versus-them loyalties among their consumers.
Outdoor apparel maker Patagonia has shrewdly created an entire subculture around environmental activism, where customers feel they are part of a righteous crusade to save the planet with each purchase.
Nike’s 2018 “Dream Crazy” ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick was praised by many for supporting the controversial quarterback’s protests against police brutality. However, others saw it as profiting off divisive social issues. Nike arguably used Kaepernick’s activism to tap into a tribal identity among progressives.
Recently Bud Light’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney aimed to appeal to pro-LGBTQ consumers, but sparked backlash from conservatives who saw it as pushing a liberal agenda over serving Bud Light’s traditional customer base.
Summary: Major brands often align themselves with social causes to create a sense of shared identity and tribal loyalty among a target consumer segment. However, companies risk intense backlash if perceived as inauthentic, exploitative or overtly political rather than being true to their brand’s core identity.
6. Exploiting Cognitive Biases
Finally, the darkest brand manipulation tactic preys not just on psychology, but on our inherent human shortcomings in rationality itself — biases that lead everyday folks to make poor, ethically compromised choices.
For decades, big tobacco companies like Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds manipulated/denied health risks, downplayed addictions and played on people’s natural tendency to be optimistic about potential risks to themselves to keep selling their deadly products and addict new generations of smokers. This is an ongoing vicious cycle without a light at the end of the tunnel.
It can be argued Purdue Pharma leveraged the authority bias of medical professionals to sell more pills. Purdue aggressively marketed OxyContin to doctors, downplaying the addiction risks of their opioid painkillers. This led to overprescribing which fueled the opioid crisis.
From the sunk-cost fallacy afflicting Boeing’s reckless 737 Max fiasco to Volkswagen’s emissions cheating on “green” branding confirmation bias, some brands will stoop to new ethical low for more profits.
Summary: Unethical corporations have taken advantage of human nature to make more money, rather than considering ethics or safety. They do so by hiding/downplaying risks and exploiting human flaws — such as impulsivity, over-optimism, ambiguity aversion and trust in authority.
Ethical Branding and Marketing:
Marketing and branding are inherently about shaping perceptions and emotional resonance. In my point of view, there is nothing unethical about developing powerful visual languages, storytelling, and using honest audience feedback/reviews as a springboard to drive more sales.
Deception will creep in when brands lose sight of the line between persuasion and manipulation — by stoking impulses, manufacturing desire irrationally, and knowingly ignoring psychological detriments that will impact the consumers’ welfare.
By recognising the dark side of branding and marketing, we can create a more transparent and authentic approach to building our brands. Remember to prioritise ethics, education, and genuine value over manipulation and deceptions.
FAQs
Q: Isn’t all marketing inherently manipulative? Isn’t your prescription impossible?
There’s a clear red line between persuasive salesmanship that honours consumer cognition versus underhand trickery that hijacks psychological vulnerabilities. Responsible brands strive for the former by cultivating voluntary desire for their products, not manufacturing them through deception.
Q: Won’t shady competitors who do employ dark patterns gain an advantage over more ethical businesses?
In the short run, manipulative tactics can yield windfall profits. But building sustainable loyalty and word-of-mouth in an age of instantaneous reviews requires brands to be more transparent, thanks to the internet and social media.
Q: How can I ensure my brand is not contributing to the dark side of marketing?
Adhere firmly to truthfulness around product claims to build credibility as a dependable brand. By prioritising transparency, authenticity, and truthfulness in your marketing efforts, you can build trust with your customers and avoid exploiting psychological biases.
Q: What are some common cognitive biases that brands exploit?
Some common biases include confirmation bias, sunk cost fallacies, and authority bias.
This article is written by
Hendra Chong
Creative Director, Brand Designer
Locally Creative Lab
Hi there! My name is Hendra, head creative honcho at Locally. My humble creative service agency is dedicated to helping purpose-driven businesses stand out with great branding and design.
So whether you’re looking for brand identity design or refine your go-to-market creatives, let Locally Creative Lab help craft a brand everyone will love.
www.locallycreativelab.xyz
www.linkedin.com/in/hendra-chong-81511040/
