Galileo Gambit
Why people assume they're right when criticized like Galileo was, and how to use this fallacy to position your brand as innovative.
In this issue
Hey 👋 The Crew here.
For better or worse, we won’t see breakdancing in the Olympics 2028—and not because of the memes. It was decided much before. But it did make us wonder…
What Olympic “sports” would make marketers gold medal contenders?
- Filling a report as close to the client call as possible.
- A coffee drinking marathon.
- Sitting in the weirdest and most inconvenient position known to mankind.
You can continue…
Reading time: 4 minutes, 45 seconds
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You’ve heard of Galileo, right?
Let’s jog your memory: Galileo was the original space geek who got in trouble for saying the Earth wasn’t the center of the universe—which annoyed the 16th century powers that be.
As a consequence, the scientist was put under house arrest, mocked, and laughed at until the end of his life—even though he was eventually proven right.
Of course, Galileo was one of a kind. And not all ideas sit on strong foundations as his.
But the “success” story of Galileo holding on to his beliefs has inspired many to compare themselves to Galileo when they were laughed at for their beliefs.
Which brings us to the Galileo effect.
In psychology, the Galileo effectrefers to the common fallacy where indifferent people become less sure of the rightness—or wrongness—of certain theories. Or even brands and products.
In recent years, modern psychologists have been writing about it… and so have scientists and theorists, too.
When it comes to marketing, there’s a way to use the Galileo fallacy ethically to help you appear innovative and “against the tide” while appealing to customers.
… Because everyone wants to be ahead of the curve.
Three ways you can leverage the Galileo Gamabit
Position yourself as an “out-of-the-box” name
Like Galiileo, sometimes you just need to “Think different.”
No, that’s not a grammar mistake. It’s the name of the famous 1997 Apple campaign in which the company celebrated the spirit of innovation, creativity, and nonconformity.
This campaign helped Apple align its brand with some of the most influential figures in history who “thought differently.” Look familiar?
In your brand’s case, you might want to align your product or service with an out-of-the-box approach. For example, They do it like this, we do it differently. And better.
Show your “against the odds” story
Want your Galileo gambit to work? Better craft a great underdog story.
Some of the best success stories start with “They laughed at the idea…” It’s just the reality. And science suggests an underdog story can make people empathize with the protagonist.
Think of brands like Gymshark. Gymshark not only built successful businesses—it also told a great story of a “19-year-old coming against the likes of Nike—and winning.” A true David vs. Goliath story.
The story becomes the appeal in itself, much like the quality gym wear that it sells.
Of course, not everyone has an underdog story on the Gymshark scale, but simply implying you’ve overcome adversity against all odds can motivate customers.
Do the “reverse Galileo”
Sometimes, you can turn the Galileo gambit on its head.
Instead of going the “what if you’re right and they’re wrong” route, you do the opposite.
Sometimes people will have outrageous claims or expectations about a brand and try to downplay you.
So you take those complaints—especially something you can’t really fix—and use honesty and some sprinkled-in humor to your advantage.
Like Volkswagen did here:
Of course this VW couldn’t fit Wilt Chamberlain, but no car would. At the same time, it made people laugh and evoked positive emotions.
As Bob Monkhouse would say: “They laughed at me when they said I wanted to be a comedian. Well they ain’t laughing now!”
Humor is just so darn effective, isn’t it?
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ADVERTISING:You might want to laser focus on your holiday campaigns. Why? Because they could be a bit more challenging than in previous years. This article lists a few data-backed challenges you might want to be wary of—and have a better Q4.
AI MARKETING:Ads are coming to Perplexity—a popular AI search engine. The platform will share the revenue with the publisher when their content is referenced in the search results—and it’s already been tested with select publishers. When is it coming? End of the year, probably.
TIKTOK:Move over, Zoomers. TikTok has seen a huge growth among ages 45-55 in the UK, which shows the popular app is catching on with the “older” generations as well. Good to know if that’s your target audience.
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