‘Obsessed’ is a monthly deep dive into social and cultural trends that can help marketers inform the way they think. Led by Kate O’Loughlin, Wavemaker strategist and self-confessed obsessive, ‘Obsessed’ will be a magic school bus to expand marketing mindsets and help brands remain relevant amongst an ever-changing cultural landscape.
This month I’m obsessed with… the power of confusing (thanks to Severance).
In fact, to paraphrase Paris Hilton, Severance has proved that being confusing is “so hot right now”.
For those who haven’t watched the hit Apple TV+ series, Severance follows the lives of a group of office workers who have undergone a medical procedure so that they have no memory of the outside world when they’re at work (their “innie”) and vice versa (their “outtie”).
While the concept of mysterious shows which keep the audience guessing is not anything new (see: Lost), Severance embraces a new kind of confusion to fuel internet fandom.
Traditionally, ‘mystery box’ shows will take multiple episodes to explore plot lines which leads to extended fan speculation on theories or themes. This long-game approach to plot development and the resulting use of continuous cliff-hangers can lead to frustration – “Are they dead or alive?” “But what about the mysterious gas?” “They never addressed how they knew each other!” A great example would be the latest season of White Lotus, which fans have dubbed ‘slow’ due to taking multiple episodes to establish tension and context.
Severance has done the inverse of the ‘drawn out’ content approach. The series will suggest and disprove theories or plot hooks within the span of an episode.
Here’s an example - during one episode, the protagonist (Mark) tries to burn a message into his retinas for his innie to read once he rides the ‘severed’ lift into the office (no notes/writing can pass through the lift so alternative methods to communicate must be considered). Burning a message into the retinas was actually a method theorised by a fan on Reddit, but rather than entertaining the fan theory to keep audiences guessing, the Severance creators included the idea just so to immediately discredit it. Mid burning the message into Marks eyes, a side-character quickly dismisses the idea by stating “It doesn’t work. The switch (in the lift) briefly dilates the pupils. Clean slate…”
This immediate dismissal meant the writers were able to take the series into a richer and simultaneously more confusing territory. A behaviour they repeated throughout the series. This made fans question, “if they can’t do a, b, c, d, e, f… then what CAN they do?!”
OK I hear you – what does this confusing, yet incredibly well-written series have to do with my brand?
Unsurprisingly, the way Severance has doubled down on confusion led to a spike in online buzz – and as a result viewership. Season 2 of Severance surpassed Ted Lasso as AppleTV+’s most successful launch, fuelling +126% increase in new subscriptions according to Deadline. This kind of organic action and buzz is something marketers can only dream of.
Severance has proved: Confusion = conversation. Conversation = action.
However, there is a fine line between positive confusion and negative confusion. Push too far to the latter and you put your brand at risk of scaring consumers with lack of understanding. To keep your brand on the right side of confusion, consider the below three insights inspired by the Severance series:
1. Don’t do absurdity in halves.
Given the state of the economic/political/ecological climate right now, it feels a little like we’re living in an absurdist drama where the news cycle is being pushed to the edge of extreme. As a result, there is comfort into pushing content into unconventional narratives. Leaning into packaging or new products which push your brand into an area of the category that no competitor has gone will be welcomed.
2. Give people an answer to look for.
The beauty of the Severance plot is the speed at which theories are disproven, meaning that audiences are kept searching for new ‘one trick’ answers to solve all their questions. When developing your brands organic or earned content hooks, consider narratives which will challenge audiences to solve for unanswered questions. A great example of this was the Cannes-winning ‘Michael CeraVe’ campaign. The consistency with which content was published across earned articles, Michael Cera’s own accounts, and fan content, meant that there was consistently new threads or theories that people were left solving for.
3. “What happens next” > “What just happened”.
Waiting until one big launch moment to fuel the conversation about your brand will get you nowhere. Online discourse focuses on the next, not on the past. The pace at which Severance was able to suggest and then disprove theories meant that the audience were encouraged to look at potential future outcomes. In a society fuelled by new, now and next, consumers are resistant to look at ‘old news’. The more you can plan your brand content or creative to fuel the audience to guess predictions rather than discuss retrospections, the more likely you are to stay on the positive side of confusion.
While I’ve never used the word ‘confusion’ so much in as few words, I hope my argument is anything but confusing.
Severance has proved the power of the guessing game. As brands, there is an opportunity to capitalise on this by leaning into the internet’s obsession with theorising. It’s a bold territory that few are willing to touch, contributing to the immediate success of the Severance franchise. So the question is, are you game enough to venture into the confusing?
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
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