Behavioral Science For Brands: Leveraging behavioral science in brand marketing. How Pringles used rhyme to become America’s top chip
Feb 13, 2023
A dive into how Pringles’ tube and stackable chip design solved a real consumer problem. An exploration of rhyme and the Keats heuristic and why rhyme boosts perceived truth and memorability. A look at sonic branding, why simple tactics like jingles work, and why agencies often avoid straightforward solutions. Practical marketing takeaways about aligning incentives and favoring outcomes over showy complexity.
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Design Solved The Crushed Chip Problem
- Pringles was developed starting in 1968 to solve crushed chips in bags by creating a stackable hyperbolic paraboloid chip.
- This design led to a unique tube/can packaging and launched the original salt flavor as a new form factor.
Rhyme Increases Perceived Truth
- The Kuleshov-esque 'kitsch heuristic' (keach heuristic) shows rhyming phrases are judged more believable than non-rhyming equivalents.
- Researchers attribute this to processing fluency: rhyme makes statements easier to process and thus feel truer.
Rhyme Dramatically Improves Recall
- Rhyming not only boosts credibility but dramatically improves memorability in tests.
- Richard Schott reports a pilot where rhyming roughly doubled recall of proverbs the next day.