True story:
Back when I was in 5th or 6th grade, I remember laying in my grandparents’ bed watching the Disney Channel (a big deal back then in the 80’s). And I was fascinated by an episode of a show called The Wonderful World Of Disney titled: “Disney’s Greatest Villains.” It was hosted by the same actor who played Man in the Magic Mirror from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and other Disney specials. The Mirror guy spent the entire show talking about why the villains — not the heroes — are the reason why Disney stories are so popular, along with clips of various Disney films to prove his point.
I probably am butchering how he put it.
But basically he said:
“Take a story with no villain, danger, or evil plans, and put them together and what do you got? Boredom.”
In other words:
It’s the villain that determines how much you like the good guys.
And, it’s the villain that is #1 in any story.
No villain = no conflict.
No conflict = no engagement.
No engagement = no outstanding box office gross.
Many years later I saw another documentary on Amazon:
“Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics”
And I highly recommend it for anyone in the marketing game.
It’s hosted by the late Christopher Lee (the perfect voice for it) and it goes deep into the psychology of villains and why you really need villains to have an engaging story.
So it is with creating engaging marketing.
It’s practically embedded in my email methodology, too.
More on that here:
Ben Settle
