🧠 Pratfall Effect: Why failure can build more trust than success

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Hi there - Jen here :)

Every business makes mistakes.

Take Apple, for example.

In May, they ran an ad called “Crush” that showed records, musical instruments, and paint sets getting crushed to fit into their new, thinner iPad Pro.

An obvious visual metaphor and not a very original concept - all in all a solid but forgettable ad.

But the timing, right at the height of “GenAI is taking all the creative jobs” cultural conversation, turned a forgettable ad into a big, public mistake.

Lots of creative folks saw it as an attack on their livelihoods, and as a deep betrayal by a “creative” brand at a time when their future job prospects were looking pretty bleak.

And although creatives represent a small portion of Apple’s trillion dollar customer base, spiritually they’re a driving force of the brand.

The online uproar caused Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, to issue an apology and pull the ad.

But despite the controversy, they sold 24% more iPads in Q3 with sales rising to $7.2B.

The Apple “Crush” ad presents an interesting lesson:

When you make a mistake as a business, what you do next defines you.

Do you issue a mea culpa and say, “We screwed up”?

Or do you ignore what’s happening and hope something else comes along that redirects the news cycle?

The Pratfall Effect gives us some fascinating psychological insight into how other people view our failures and how we handle them - whether we’re just a normal person who made a mistake at work, or a trillion dollar business.

Today you’ll learn:

• What is the Pratfall Effect?

• What happened the day KFC ran out of chicken

• What to do (and not do) when your business makes a big mistake

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What is the Pratfall Effect?

The Pratfall Effect says that mistakes can make us seem more likable, not less.

But it only works if you’re already seen as competent or an above-average performer.

Using the Pratfall Effect in business can help make your brand seem more likeable, engaging, and human.

Here’s an example:

Here’s what happened when KFC ran out of chicken

In 2018, Kentucky Fried Chicken’s stores in the UK changed meat suppliers and suddenly, without warning, they had to shut all of their stores because they didn't have any chicken to Kentucky Fry. 

KFC could have ignored its big mistake and tried to make customers forget it ever happened.

But instead they decided to issue the most epic apology ever.

It showed a bucket of KFC Chicken with a letters K F and C rearranged to say the exact thing you'd probably say if you ran a chicken restaurant that ran out of chicken. 

KFC took full advantage of the Pratfall Effect, and instead of hating them, customers liked them even more.

What to do (and not do) when your business makes a big mistake

The Pratfall Effect can be a tricky one to get right, but here are some tips:

1. Don’t admit to a fault that affects a critical part of your product.

For example, a car company shouldn’t create a campaign admitting that their cars’ engines fall out on the highway and expect people to love their brand more. It’s too important to the product’s core performance.

2. Pratfall from a position of strength.

This effect amplifies existing opinions about a product, person, or experience. Meaning things that are already well-liked will be more well-liked post-Pratfall. But weaker products will be less liked.

If you want to apply the Pratfall Effect to your business, start by asking yourself a few questions: 

• Are we pratfalling from a position of strength? Are we already well-liked and respected, or is our brand generally looked at with suspicion? For example, a tobacco company using the Pratfall Effect will not be as well-received as a normally well-regarded company like Apple.

• What were the consequences of our mistake? Was it an irritating inconvenience, like KFC’s chicken supply issue? Or is it a life and death issue, like a product that hurt or injured customers?

Read, Watch, Listen

• Less Painful Ballet Shoes Are Here. Some Dancers Refuse to Use Them: Purists say suffering in pointes is part of the art (but is it?) [Read]

• How I Created a Successful Brand That Makes People Feel Something: From Career-Ending Basketball Injury to CEO [Watch]

• Season 6 of the much-loved Choice Hacking podcast is now live! Listen as I deep dive into the psychology behind Spotify’s success → [Listen]

If there’s a psychology principle you want to hear more about or a brand you want me to break down and explain, just reply to this email and let me know :)

Until next time,
Jen