I’m sure most of us have heard about the babysitter who gets bombarded with creepy phone calls from a serial killer who’s hiding in the house. And of course this story has been validated and confirmed from a friend of a friend of our cousin who knows our dog whose mom has sworn this is true. But we all know this is an imaginary urban legend that has been circulating for decades.
But, why do these stories – Bloody Mary haunting dark bathroom mirrors, or Bigfoot lurking in the woods or the Lochness Monster free styling in the lakes of the Scottish highlands – last for generations when we are all conscious of their blatant inaccuracies?
In “Made to Stick,” brothers Chip and Dan Heath investigate why some ideas and stories prosper and others languish. The Heaths examine and analyze how to make an idea memorable or “sticky” for centuries like these urban legends.
After reading the story about the organ thief – you know, your friend’s brother’s sister’s husband’s best friend walks into a bar and wakes up the next day missing an organ – I somehow immediately began thinking of reality TV. With over-the-top characters (Snooki, the Situation of “Jersey Shore”) and risky, unbelievable scenarios (eating bugs and living on a deserted island in “Survivor”), reality TV has become an unimaginable, shock-inducing entity, almost like urban legends. When you think about it, who would ever imagine a TV show following a 4-foot-9-inch, bronzed-like-a-carrot guidette with sky-scraper high “poufed” hair? Sounds like a myth to me ...
In the past decade, our generation has seen an explosion of reality TV shows on nearly every major network. It’s gotten to the point where I can’t even name five fictional television shows anymore. But, I can list, categorize, alphabetize and index probably more than 50 reality TV shows. How did this happen? It can’t just be that people are innately voyeuristic or nosy about random people whom they’ve never met or seen before. There has to be something more appealing and luring about reality shows. What is it about the idea of reality TV that has consumed our television screens?
Following the Heaths’ model, we can attempt to trace how the concept of reality TV has become so overwhelmingly popular, like the urban legends and myths they discuss. The Heaths use the acronym "SUCCES" to define a successful “sticky” idea:
Simple: Follow a bunch of people around for a few days. You don’t need hair and make-up staffs or entourages to cater to your reality stars. You don’t need scripts. Essentially, all that is required is a cast, a camera and some editing.
Unexpected: Who would think we would have reality shows about people making balloon animals (“The Unpoppabbles”)? Every day there are new, unusual and unexpected shows featuring an odd talent or perspective.
Concrete: Reality shows are defined pretty clearly: a show about people living together down the Jersey Shore (“Jersey Shore”), a bakery making lavish cakes (“Cake Boss”), or celebrities dancing samba or cha cha cha (“Dancing with the Stars”). Not much confusion or ambiguity here.
Credible: Most shows are hosted by MTV, ABC, TLC and HBO, to name a few. These are major reliable networks. And these shows like “True Life” (on MTV) are presented and marketed as real people facing real issues. They’re not actors hired to portray characters on a fictional TV series.
Emotional: Shows like “16 & Pregnant” or “Bridezilla” (well, pretty much any wedding show) are emotional experiences for the audience. Family turmoil, relationship crises and financial concerns are just a few of the emotional struggles we see the cast experience on the show.
Story: In many of these shows, we witness a real person battle and triumph or fail. But, we all hope to see them succeed and overcome their obstacles. There is a beginning, middle and some resolution. Even if it’s not the happy ending we all hope for, there is some kind of denouement.
Our meddlesome tendencies, of course, have contributed to the outburst of reality shows, but the Heaths six points more clearly define and outline how this has happened.
But looking outside of reality TV, “Made to Stick” defines more than exposing embarrassing, heart-wrenching, poignant and triumphant stories on TLC. “Made to Stick” is about communication. Sure, reality shows are entertaining, but at their core, reality shows are communicating messages to us: Being a mother to an infant child is difficult, especially when you are only 16 years old (“Teen Mom”); planning a wedding is a stressful and emotional time in a woman’s life (any bridal show); and losing weight is more than a physical struggle (“Biggest Loser”). These are all simple messages that reality shows are emitting each day. And I believe that is the fundamental essence of “Made to Stick”: the way we communicate affects how memorable or lasting our message will be. Reality TV just happens to be a simple, straightforward and “SUCCESsful” technique some may employ to get their messages across. This isn’t a book about the media, publicists or advertising executives; it’s a book about everyone because we all have important ideas to share with the world. While the concept of reality TV is criticized on a daily basis, its growth and sturdiness over the past years say something -- maybe we’re all looking for an outlet to communicate with the world, and reality shows just happen be a tool that can be used to do so. We all want to be heard.
