How JWT used Marilyn Monroe to make a coin feel valuable

The advertising agency J. Walter Thompson used to set a test for aspiring copywriters. One of the questions was simple: ‘Here are two identical 25-cent coins. Sell me the one on the right.’ One successful candidate understood the idea of alchemy. ‘I’ll take the right-hand coin and dip it in Marilyn Monroe’s bag.’ Then I’ll sell you a genuine 25-cent coin as owned by Marilyn Monroe.’

In maths it is a rule that 2 + 2 = 4. In psychology, 2 + 2 can equal more or less than 4. It’s up to you.

Behavioural principles

Behavioural ideas at play in this post

Short, plain-English explanations of the principles behind this post, with links to related books and examples in the archive.

Processing fluency

Easy-to-process things feel truer, safer, and more appealing.

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Affect heuristic

We lean on how something feels when making a fast judgment.

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Lateral thinking

Better solutions sometimes appear when we stop pushing through the obvious route.

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How JWT used Marilyn Monroe to make a coin feel valuable

Behavioural ideas at play in this post

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