The Pratfall Effect: What happens when brands make big, public mistakes (2025)

When Barrack Obama was running for President, a journalist asked a bit of a “gotcha” question. He asked candidate Obama whether he’d ever smoked m*rijuana. And instead of trying to hide a mistake that might’ve cost him the race, he admitted to it. Obama said, “When I was a kid, I inhaled. That was the point.” Because Obama was already seen as a likeable, smart and competent guy something called the Pratfall Effect kicked in, and made him even more likeable, because now he didn’t seem “too perfect.”And it turns out that’s what’s true for presidential candidates can also be true for regular people, celebrities, and consumer brands, too...⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Please take 12 seconds to rate and review the podcast because it helps us find new listeners ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐COACHING✅ To learn more about working one-on-one with Jen and book your free Connection Call, visit https://www.choicehacking.com/coaching-inviteThis month I have 3 spots available - first come, first serve.FREE RESOURCES✅ Get a free digital copy of my bestselling book for a limited time, Choice Hacking: How to use psychology and behavioral science to create an experience that sings. Get it here: https://www.choicehacking.com/free-book/ ✅ Get FREE weekly marketing psychology insights when you join my newsletter, Choice Hacking Ideas: Join the 10k+ people getting daily insights on how to 2x their marketing effectiveness (so sales and profit 2x, too) using buyer psychology. Join here: https://www.choicehacking.com/read/✅ Connect with host Jennifer Clinehens on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok @ChoiceHackingWORK WITH JEN CLINEHENS & CHOICE HACKING✅ Training & Workshops: Get your team up-skilled marketing psychology and behavioral science with a workshop or training session. Choice Hacking has worked with brands like Microsoft, T-Mobile, and McDonalds to help their teams apply behavioral science and marketing psychology.Learn more here, and get in touch using the contact form at the bottom of the page: https://www.choicehacking.com/training/✅ Get your own Chief Marketing Copilot for your business when you my new program. Get live Skill Sessions, Implementation Sessions, and one-on-one time with me. Learn more here: https://choicehacking.academy/pro/✅ Buy my book in Kindle, paperback, or audiobook form: "Choice Hacking: How to use psychology and behavioral science to create an experience that sings": https://choicehacking.com/PodBook/ ★ Support this podcast ★