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It was the weirdest ad I'd ever seen | Nudge Newsletter 🧠

Published 6 days agoΒ β€’Β 1 min read

The ritual effect.

To many, this Stella Artiois ad might seem ridiculous.

β€œTHE PURIFICATION: A cold-water bath to chill the chalice and sustain the head of the pour.

THE SACRIFICE: The first drops are sacrificed, a small price to ensure the freshest taste.

THE LIQUID ALCHEMY: The chalice is held at forty-five degrees for the perfect combination of foam and liquid.

THE CROWN: The chalice is gracefully straightened, forming a perfect head and sealing in the freshness.

THE REMOVAL: A smooth and fluid exit, while closing the nozzle.

THE SKIMMING: A skimmer trims the head at a forty-five-degree angle, removing the large, loose bubbles.

THE JUDGEMENT: Three centimeters of foam, no more and no less.

THE CLEANSING: A final dip in cold water for a brilliant chalice and stunning presentation.

THE BESTOWAL: A moment to assure and admire a perfectly served Stella Artois.”

This elaborate nine-step ritual seems over the top, but Micahel Norton, in his book The Ritual Effect, thinks it helps Stella charge more for their lager.

He argues that performing a ritual like this might make drinkers enjoy the beer more and encourage them to purchase it repeatedly.

In the Ritual Effect, he shares how rituals:

  • Improved a child's self-discipline (Rybanska, 2018)
  • Increase enjoyment of a gifted bracelet (Wen, 2016)
  • And build group cohesiveness (Berg, 1995)

All of this is likely due to biases discovered in Norton's own work on the IKEA effect.

He asked two groups of 52 participants to build a small IKEA cabinet.

Afterwards, both groups were asked what they'd pay for the cabinet.

  • The builders wanted to pay $0.78
  • The non-builders wanted to pay $0.48

Building the box made participants willing to pay 63% more.

The effect has been seen with DIY origami, LEGO sets, and restaurant meals. Participants consistently place more value on the objects they help create.

More effort = more enjoyment.

This is perhaps why Stella Artois ask customers to perform a ritual before sipping the beer.

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Cheers,

Phill

P.S One of my favourite podcasts is back on air after a long hiatus. Go check it out.

Nudge Newsletter

Phill Agnew

I spend 18 hours each week turning marketing psychology into readable newsletters.

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