Click for details Introduction Brainwashing originates from creating and resolving conflicts. These days, people are increasingly not watching TV. If there is one thing that can bring young people together in front of the TV cheering, it's the World Cup. The Spring Festival Gala and the Olympics have already fizzled out. Football and basketball are naturally fan-based sports, with stars, idols, fans, home teams, journalists, tactics, gossip, and a hierarchy of fandom. It's already a maturely operated community, and the internet has made this community even more dynamic. Just a few days into the World Cup, after complaining about the first performances of Argentina, Germany, and Brazil, and sharing jokes about the Icelandic ad director saving a penalty, a wave of complaints about TV commercials came flooding in. Before the group stage even ended, Zhihu, BOSS Zhipin, and Mafengwo were already rated as the three most vulgar brainwashing ads. Unfortunately, two of these ads were the work of Ye Maozhong, namely Zhihu and Mafengwo. During the World Cup, concentrated placement in this only remaining huge traffic pool on TV media is unavoidable, and it's also the strategy proposed by Master Ye that communication must also be conflict-based. Ye Maozhong has always had an unbreakable bond with "vulgar ads." In the early years when TV ads were prevalent, some idle advertising professionals would annually select the "Top Ten Vulgar Ads" to criticize and mock, and Ye Maozhong's creative ads were always regulars on the "Top Ten Vulgar Rankings," such as "Everyone on Earth knows," "Wash it, wash it, healthier," "Men go to HLA twice a year," and so on. However, what pains many people is that these "vulgar ads" not only frequently appear on TV but also always make a fortune for business owners. Yet award-winning ads are not necessarily as effective, and the copywriting praised by advertisers and self-media personalities often fails to achieve such results. So, some people curse the clients as "idiots," and some blame the Chinese aesthetic as problematic, with masochistic tendencies. Actually, there's no need for that. Vulgar ads have a logic to their success. Vulgar ads can become brainwashing ads on the consumer side and ads that make entrepreneurs a fortune, not just because the content expressed is down-to-earth, but also because of the penetrating power of insight into conflicts and the "humanization" of resolving conflicts; otherwise, they are just superficially vulgar, falling far short in communication power with people's hearts, and even further from the driving force of sales. The key to brainwashing is to create conflict: On the surface, vulgar ads often have simple appeals, clear scenarios, and constant repetition, which greatly improves their communication efficiency. An average ad played ten times might not be as memorable as one play of "This year, no gifts during the festival; the only gift is Nao Bai Jin." Previously, Ye Maozhong guided us that a 15-second TVC should include the brand name at least three times. Now with more information flooding, three times might not be enough. Look at Mafengwo's ad: the brand name appears 6 times in 15 seconds; and Zhihu's 15-second ad has the brand name appearing a crazy 9 times, so many "Zhihu" that even a smooth talker couldn't finish saying them. For most people, the discomfort from the brainwashing impact of vulgar ads gradually decreases, but the consumption scenario becomes clearer. As Shi Yuzhu said (paraphrased):
Consumers may hate Nao Bai Jin's ads, but they know Nao Bai Jin is a gift. When they walk into a supermarket during holidays and can't think of what gift to give, many naturally choose Nao Bai Jin. Uncovering the truth, the reason for strengthening consumer memory of the brand name is often because the brand is the only solution to resolve consumer conflicts. 1. Insight into consumer conflicts – 2. Resolve consumer conflicts – 3. Use conflict creation to remind consumers to resolve conflicts. Shi Yuzhu first suggested "No gifts this year during the festival," immediately creating a conflict – "The only gift is Nao Bai Jin." The conflict of first suppressing then promoting further strengthens Nao Bai Jin's gift attribute, more forcefully establishing the buyer's path for gift-giving: you can't give anything else, only Nao Bai Jin. Mafengwo's design is similar. If it were just a plea with Xuan Ge's good looks, it would hardly disturb the restless rough men before the World Cup, except for his fans. To successfully upgrade vulgar ads to brainwashing ads, to establish a deeper brainwashing path for consumers, and even to make consumers feel conflicted and uncomfortable when first seeing such ads, with the "discomfort" producing a reverse reinforcement memory effect, everyone must remember: We don't aim to disgust the audience with vulgarity; our purpose is to create conflict, to make people see us, remember us, and even constantly think of us amidst a crowd of handsome men and beautiful women. Those who know Ye Maozhong know that last year he made a big move, publishing a book called "Conflict," creating a conflict theory, which Lao Miao calls "the only marketing methodology with theoretical height in China." The book started reprinting within ten days of publication, has been reprinted four times, sold over 100,000 copies in four to five months, and reached 300,000 copies in less than a year. This is a miracle. For business and management books, selling over 10,000 to 20,000 copies can generally be considered a bestseller. Selling 300,000 copies in less than a year is unprecedented in the history of business publishing. With fewer people reading, this record is unlikely to be broken. The "Conflict" theory is almost an earthquake in China's corporate and marketing circles. If you want to study the "Conflict" theory well, Mafengwo's ad is worth enduring a few more views. This ad is a typical application of conflict theory, this time using left-right brain conflict. The brain has three layers: the cerebral cortex, the diencephalon, and the amygdala. The cerebral cortex handles thinking, the left brain handles analysis, abstraction, and logical thinking, and the right brain handles imagery, graphics, and result-oriented thinking. So the left brain is process-oriented, while the right brain is result-oriented. Generally, effective ads and marketing target the right brain, being more direct and more able to influence people's actions, giving the left brain some support points is enough. But Mafengwo's approach is much more unconventional. (It is recommended to watch Mafengwo's TVC three times before reading the following) The first frame of the ad: Huang Xuan says to the camera: Before traveling, go to Mafengwo first. This is fine, standard, a typical positioning approach, clarifying Mafengwo's usage scenario, "scenario-based" thinking, targeting the right brain. It's the same as "Afraid of getting heaty, drink Wanglaoji" and "A bit hungry and sleepy, drink a bit of Xiangpiaopiao." If it just repeated this, the effect would also be good, but then it wouldn't be Ye Maozhong. From the second frame, it starts to get very kitschy. A person dressed as Tang Seng comes out and says: "Why go to Mafengwo first?" Not only is the Tang Seng image abrupt and impressive, but the key is the question "Why go to Mafengwo first," which instantly pulls people's thinking to the left brain. "Why," exploring reasons, is the left brain's job. When our left brain hears the word "why," it immediately activates. But at this moment, our left brain is confused because there isn't much information to analyze "why go to Mafengwo before traveling." Our left brain can't accept this state of confusion, so it searches in our mind: "What the hell is Mafengwo, and why should I go there first?" At this point, Huang Xuan takes over and firmly says: Before traveling... At this time, our left brain breathes a sigh of relief, thinking Huang Xuan will give us a reason, so our left brain doesn't have to think. Unexpectedly, Tang Seng interrupts again, saying "Why go to Mafengwo first?" This confuses our left brain again. What's more infuriating is that this image and dialogue repeat twice more, "Before traveling..." "Why go to Mafengwo first." Stimulating back and forth between the left and right brains, after three repetitions, our brain is overwhelmed and we start to have the urge to smash the TV. When Tang Seng makes a sudden realization "Oh oh oh—", our left brain is already tired, and we don't want to know "why go to Mafengwo" at all, we just want to pull Tang Seng out of the TV and beat him up. After all this, when Huang Xuan finally says "Before traveling, you must go to Mafengwo first," almost everyone gives up resisting, with inner monologues like: "Please, don't say it anymore, spare me, I know to go to Mafengwo before traveling," or "Damn it, I'd rather die than go to Mafengwo." What's worse, the final frame of the ad's end card adds a finishing touch: "Mafengwo, buzz~ buzz~ buzz~." It teases our exhausted brain once more, truly "if this can be endured, what cannot?" After reading Lao Miao's interpretation, go back and "appreciate" this ad. Isn't that the mental journey you go through? Clear appeal, clear scenario, with the brand name appearing six times in just fifteen seconds, and with so many contradictions and conflicts, Master Ye's ad is spot on. Just a few days after this ad was launched, Baidu mobile search index showed such changes. Mafengwo APP's daily active users and downloads also surged during the same period. Mafengwo founder Chen Gang and investor Xu Xin, president of Capital Today, couldn't hide their joy, busy thanking "Master Ye" and marveling at "the master's divine power." Mafengwo's ability to become a "brainwashing" ad during the World Cup, rather than just a common vulgar ad, lies in its insight into the conflicts consumers face before travel, and using the drama between Tang Seng and Huang Xuan to express this conflict. Every novice facing travel, deep down, is like Tang Seng, anxious and naggingly asking "Why?" If someone like Xuan Ge can, in the face of all doubts, firmly smile and tell you to go to Mafengwo before traveling, wouldn't this conflict be perfectly resolved? The key to brainwashing ads is that when consumers face the corresponding scenario, they will habitually make an instinctive reaction. The current marketing era is considered by traditional marketers to be an era of losing control, a chaotic era, where the marketing skills they've practiced for decades are easily defeated by some young guys from internet companies. However, these internet companies are also finding answers in various consumer conflicts: left-right brain conflicts, rational-emotional conflicts, competitor conflicts, external environment vs. self conflicts, id-ego-superego conflicts, psychological vs. physiological needs conflicts... Ye Maozhong often says: Third-rate marketing discovers conflicts; second-rate marketing resolves conflicts; first-rate marketing creates conflicts. In Mafengwo's fifteen-second space, Ye Maozhong created a left-right brain conflict and resolved it, leaving consumers with a deep brand impression and topic. Of course, Ye Maozhong's company's planning for Mafengwo goes beyond this. From the earlier name change from "Mafengwo" (with a different character) to "Mafengwo," and from "Free Travel" to "Travel Network," it deeply reflects the change in grasping market demand and insight into conflicts. The planning effect is good, but in the end, I have to say to Mr. Ye, "Mafengwo, buzz~ buzz~ buzz~" is really too catchy. Can it be even more conflicting? Source: Lao Miao Tears Apart Marketing (ID: yiheyingxiao) In late August, the "2018 China Digital Innovation Conference (2018FDIC)" with the theme "Finding New Engines for Growth" will be held in Shanghai, hosted by the China FMCG Industry Association and organized by New Distribution! This conference will last 3 days, focusing on two main themes: marketing and supply chain, with six parallel forums on brand, channel, communication, B2B, intra-city logistics, and innovative retail. We will invite industry bigwigs, CEOs, and brand executives to deeply interpret the trends and drivers of digital transformation in the FMCG industry. This conference will have over 5,000+ enterprises participating. This grand event brings together outstanding explorers and promoters of digital transformation across industries, sharing case practices of digital transformation for industry enterprises and partners, discussing digital technology development trends and cutting-edge applications, building a bridge for brand owners, distributors, retail enterprises, and marketing agencies, helping FMCG manufacturers obtain the latest information and understand the best application practices. Help brand owners and distributors find new engines for digital growth in the internet era! The following is the list of invited enterprises Conference Time August 22-24, 2018 Conference Venue Shanghai Baohua Marriott Hotel Conference Content 8.22 All-day check-in Afternoon 14:00-17:30 Distributor intra-city logistics parallel forum Evening 18:30-21:00 New Distribution Night Bigwig Dinner 8.23 Theme: Marketing Digital Innovation Morning 9:00-12:00 Marketing Digital Innovation Main Forum Afternoon 14:00-17:30 Brand, Channel, Communication Parallel Forums 8.24 Theme: FMCG Supply Chain Digital Upgrade All day: FMCG Supply Chain Conference Registration Method The registration channel is now open. Long press the QR code below or click "Read Original" to register. Limited to 200 early bird tickets at half price, available while supplies last! Registration Consultation Ticket inquiries: Media cooperation inquiries: Highlights of New Distribution's Previous Conferences Click the link below to review the highlights of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd FMCG + Internet Conferences: -END-