What do Apple, the Wright Brothers, Adolf Hitler, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr have in common? They are all leaders that inspire people to take action, but how? Simon Sinek explains in this TED Talk that they all were experts at appealing to the limbic part of the brain, which is the part that triggers emotion. Sinek explains in the first part of the video that people don’t get inspired by what or how people or businesses do stuff, but why they do it.

For example, Adolf Hitler who is in addition to be one of the most hated leaders of all time is also known to be one of the best speakers who ever lived. He communicated to his people that he wanted to turn the Germany into the most powerful country in the world and the Germans to be the proudest people on the planet after they lost WW1 and faced huge sanctions imposed by Britain, USA, and France through the Versailles treaty. This was the why-part of his plan. The how-part was to build the best infrastructure in the world, to give everyone a job to go to, to expand the land mass of the country, and to carry the swastika. The what-part included actions like “Die Endlösung” or the Final Solution as it’s called in English, which included killing all Jews, as well as going to war against a number of countries on several fronts. The warfare created a huge demand for weapons, ammo, and soldiers and it resulted in a bigger land mass for Germany. The what-part is one of the darkest chapters in history.

Even though Hitler’s plan was as cruel as it can get, he still managed to gather the German people to fight for what he believed in. Hitler communicated his plan from the inside and out according to the chart that Simon Sinek drew on his board. History would not be the same if Hitler communicated his plan from the outside and in.

This is a proof of how effective communication can be by using the right strategy. Companies like Apple has been successful by using this strategy according to the video.

This is a commercial made by the Norwegian potato chip brand KIMs. The reason why I chose this commercial is because it shows true friendship, or does it?

The guy that is dressed up has clearly invited some friends over to show them a performance. His performance totally fails, even though he made a good effort. Still, his friends stay, but it is not because of the show. The potato chips from KIMs is the single reason why they stay. The song that occurs in this commercial, which is called Fire in the Sky by Thunderlords, is actually written just for this ad, but it became so popular that they decided to make a full version of the song.

The Commercial is successful because it focus on that the viewer thinks that the chips make the people stay, even when they have every reason in the world to leave, stop, or criticize the performance. This is the cognitive component of the commercial.

Another reason why it is successful is the fact that the commercial is a funny and somewhat awkward. The hilarious  costume the performer is wearing, the silly fireworks that comes up behind the sofa, and the excellent choice of music really sets the tone (literally). This is the affective component of this silly, but yet cool commercial.

It also contains a behavioural component. This is due the fact that the it communicates that this potato chip will always make you have a good time and it will always make your friends stay no matter how ridiculous or weird the situation is. In the end, it says “Får venner til å bli” which means “makes your friends stay” when it is translated into English.

KIMs has made many funny commercials over the past few years and i will definitely post some more of these commercials over the coming weeks.