When the retailer eliminated coupons in favour of “fair and square prices”, and sales tanked, it learnt an important lesson: a discount feels much more attractive than fixed price, even if the total cost is exactly the same.
All Threads
The British public recently heard the voice behind the seemingly inescapable ads. Zoe Lister jokes that cabin crew members must be “absolutely sick” of hearing her, and I’m sure many consumers would agree, but Jet2holidays now has the highest ad awareness of any airline in the UK – despite being much smaller than the market leaders.
Beware restrictions on distribution. Joe Rogan’s exclusive deal with Spotify caused a decline in search volumes and – as the linked article notes – fewer followers for guests who appeared on the podcast. Reach still matters, even for someone as famous as Joe Rogan.
When John Mayer tries to write a universal song, it’s always bad. “But if I write a song about something the size of a cup of water, I sometimes notice a week later that it’s got the universe in it.” What’s most personal, John finds, is most universal.
The Roman Emperor is perhaps the most famous example of a self proclaimed Veblen good. In 75 BC he was captured by Sicilian pirates who demanded a ransom of 20 talents of silver, equivalent to $600,000 today. But Caesar laughed at them for not knowing who he was, and suggested that 50 talents would be a more appropriate amount.
The iconic slogan was inspired by a murderer. Ad executive Dan Wieden remembered hearing it from Gary Gilmore, an American man awarded the death penalty in 1977 for killing two men after depriving them of their valuables, and used it ten years later when he was creating Nike’s first TV advert.
Did somebody say?
One of the most innovative artists of the 21st century is a master at sampling. ‘Touch the Sky’ used the riff from Curtis Mayfield’s ‘Move on Up’, and ‘Gold Digger’ sampled Ray Charles’ song ‘Hit the Road Jack’.
Booking site Kayak shows customers each airline it searches for. It takes more time, but it signals the effort that is going into the search.
In America KFC is a fast food chain, but in Japan it represents a sacred Christmas tradition. Restaurant sales are 10x higher than normal on Christmas Eve, any many customers now pre-order their chicken dinners months in advance to avoid hours of waiting in line.
KFC, the beloved American brand, generates 85% of its revenue from outside the US. One third of it comes from China.
Or is it Spotify?
As crazy as it sounds, the Korean language was invented by one man’s kindness. In the 1400s, many lower class Koreans were illiterate due to the complexity of their language Hanja (effectively literary Chinese). So to promote literacy among the masses, the fourth king of the Joseon dynasty, Sejong the Great, personally created and promulgated a new alphabet known as Hangul, which has remained in place ever since.
Our desire to please others even extends to our voice. An analysis of interview tapes showed that news host Larry King would (subconsciously) alter his vocal range to match high status guests, like then-president George Bush and actress Elizabeth Taylor.
Blackjack and poker might be the quintessential casino games, but they don’t drive the bottom line. 70% of Las Vegas gambling revenue is from slot machines, which brought in $10.5B last year (for comparison, the entire US box office in 2024 was $8.5B).