Brain Bomb. How to pull the pin.

written by Joe Di Stefano, Operations Manager, The WebSquad

The lesson begins

Some years ago, I would give a lecture to aspiring young advertising writers. This Brain Bomb idea was part of my lesson.

Always start off with a joke.

The way that I explained it was to tell a joke. This is the joke:

What is the difference between a Range Rover and a Porcupine?

There are in fact two answers to this. Only one is able to stimulate the brain and have more chance of being remembered.

And the answer is?

1) The Range Rover has the pricks on the inside.

2) The Porcupine has the pricks on the outside.

The important thing here is to feel what each answer is doing. With answer #1, there is nothing to think about. The answer gives you everything you need to know. There is no brain stimulation required. No brain bomb.

With answer #2, you have to join the dots. Your brain has to make the connection that if the porcupine has the pricks on the outside, then the Range Rover must have the pricks on the inside. (Ha, ha, ha). Your brain was stimulated, however slightly. There was a brain bomb.

Know what the right answer can do.

The aim of any piece of communication is to act as a grappling hook. You launch it out over the audience. You watch as it slowly arcs across it's path. And you hold your breath that after your listener has left, that the hook has implanted itself firmly into their brain.

The aim of any piece of communication is to stimulate the brain. If you can do this, then you have a greater chance of being remembered.

What I do with every piece of communication is to look at it from the point of view of the person with whom I am communicating. Will it cause some frontal lobe activity? Will it stimulate and embed itself with that matter that matters most? Will the grappling hook take a strong hold?

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