Our brain is a real marvel! It uses two areas of the brain to make decisions. A rational, slower part and an emotional, faster part. The faster but emotional part of the brain is upstream of all decisions and is therefore very dominant. If this were missing, we would not be able to make decisions. The more "rational" area of the brain is able to deal with extreme and emotional impulses, but needs time to do so. Our brain weighs up external factors alongside our own personal judgement. Fear and disgust, for example, are natural reactions that are intended to protect us from danger and illness. The extent to which fear or disgust is triggered depends on how we are "programmed". The course of our learned "programmes" can be influenced - and this is a great way to change our lives! Priming is an absolutely ingenious method for changing preconceived ways of thinking temporarily and, if influenced over a longer period of time, permanently. And the best thing about it is that this "manipulation" can also be used to positive effect.
For a long time, the prevention of HIV was linked to the fight against a deadly virus. The only options were abstinence or condoms. Despite the warnings, the condom wasn’t a popular product. Over time, as people became more aware of the risks and started using condoms more regularly, the fear and the associated use of the condom diminished. So let's flip the script and make something great out of it! Instead of focusing on death and disease, let's shift the conversation to passion, longing, and aesthetics. Just as hygiene products and cosmetics don't advertise smelly, sweaty bodies, hairy armpits, and pimples, we can reframe the way we talk about condoms. A condom in stylish packaging from well-known fashion houses, moistened with their fragrances and offered with their beauty and cosmetic products. Instead of a grimy vending machine with pornographic images on the tiles of a dingy toilet, the product now sparkles in the windows of modern drugstores and cosmetics shops. This way, a drab product becomes an image product – after all, it's about the most beautiful thing in the world.
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