Psychology
Commitment and consistency
Once we take a small step or make a public stand, we keep acting in line with it, so getting a first yes makes the next one easier.
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Order a Whopper for a penny — at McDonald's.Burger King2018
Whopper Detour
A one-cent Whopper got 1.5 million people to download the app, and that small first step left a lasting habit of ordering Burger King by phone.
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2017The Palau Pledge
Has every visitor sign a promise to Palau's children, stamped into their own passport on arrival, and people tend to live up to what they have signed.
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2016Unlimited Stadium
Logs a first lap and then invites runners to beat it, so having set a time they came back day after day to improve on it.
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2012Smoking Kid
Gets smokers to tell children that cigarettes cause cancer, then asks why they smoke, and the clash with what they have just said pushes them to act on it.
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2012Dumb Ways to Die
Invites viewers to pledge they will be safer around trains, and the 127 million who did made a small public promise they would then want to keep.
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1995Bob ("It's Party Time When Bob Drives")
Volunteering to be Bob for the night is a small public promise to friends, and the key ring handed out at clean breath tests rewards keeping it.
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1980Take a Bite Out of Crime ("McGruff the Crime Dog")
Asks a frightened public for small, doable steps like locking doors or writing off for a booklet, easy first moves that can grow into joining local crime-prevention efforts.
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A diamond is forever.De Beers1947
A Diamond Is Forever
Binds the stone to a vow meant to last for ever, so giving a diamond seals the promise and selling it on would feel like breaking it.
Commitment and consistency: where it comes from
Householders who first agreed to a small request, such as putting a little sign in a window, were far more likely to agree later to a much bigger one (Freedman and Fraser, 1966). Robert Cialdini called this pull to stay in line with what we have already said or done commitment and consistency.
In ads it shows up as pledges, challenges, sign-ups and small first steps that make a later, bigger yes feel natural.