Don't sell the product Sell the fear

@pr0ject47

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Selling · Other Product

Listerineseen in 4 videos →

Why it worked

The video uses a compelling historical example of successful fear-based marketing, which is a counter-intuitive and memorable sales tactic that resonates with viewers.

Summary

This video explains how brands create fear around a problem, then position their product as the solution. It uses Listerine's marketing of 'halitosis' as a prime example of this strategy.

Structure

1Brands create fear, not sell products.
2Listerine invented 'halitosis' to sell mouthwash.
3This fear-based marketing led to massive sales.
4The tactic is seen in anti-aging, hygiene, and insurance.
5Sell the problem, and the solution sells itself.

Product placement

Listerine ACTS - it is a mouthwash that was marketed by creating a disease called halitosis. Removing it would change the historical example given in the video.

On-screen text

Don't sell the product Sell the fear

Original caption

The smartest brands don't sell you a product. They sell you a fear#SalesStrategy #SalesTactics

More from @pr0ject47

Their other posts in the index, biggest breakout first.

Transcript

A brand once invented a disease just to sell their product and it made them millions. In the 1920s, Listerine was a floor cleaner nobody wanted. So they got clever. They took bad breath, something everyone had and ignored, and gave it a scary name: Halitosis. Made you sound like a disease you should be ashamed of. Then they ran ads showing lonely people, no one would marry, all because of their breath. Panicked, and sales went from 100,000 to 4 million in six years. Once you see the trick, you see it everywhere. Look at anti-aging creams, they made you scared of looking your own age. Look at germ soaps, they turn your own home into a threat. Look at insurance, they sell you the disaster, then the peace. Because people don't buy when your solution looks good. They buy when their problem starts to scare them. Sell the fear, and the cure itself sells.