Buyology - Martin Lindstrom [27]
Mirror neurons can even respond to things we see online. Take the case of a Detroit, Michigan, seventeen-year-old named Nick Baily. On November 6, 2006, Nintendo released its highly anticipated Wii gaming system—the machine that allows players to simulate the swing of a bat, the arc of a tennis serve, the roll of a bowling ball, or the rush of a linebacker crashing into the end zone via a hand-held remote. After seventeen hours waiting in line at his local Toys “R” Us, the high school senior rushed excitedly home, his Wii box tucked under one arm.
Now, most new Wii owners would breathlessly tear open the box, hook up the machine to the TV set, and test out the new gadget right away before the dust at their heels had time to settle. Not Nick Baily. Before opening the container, he set up his video camera, clipped a microphone to his shirt lapel, adjusted the video camera’s controls, and pressed record. Only then, with the video rolling, did he begin unsealing his Wii.
A couple of hours later, Nick’s very own grand opening could be viewed on YouTube—and it was, approximately 71,000 times in the first week alone. It seemed that simply watching someone else enjoying the unveiling of a new Wii gave Nintendo fans out there almost as much pleasure as opening that new Wii themselves. In fact, there are entire video-sharing sites devoted to this kind of vicarious pleasure; on www.unbox.it.com and www.unboxing.com, computer users can watch strangers from all across the world slit or scissor open their various purchases. As Chad Stoller, executive director of Emerging Platforms at the ad agency Organic, explains, “It’s the culmination of lust. There are a lot of people who aspire, who want to have something they may not be able to afford, and they can’t buy it yet. They are looking for some way to satiate their appetite.” Or maybe it’s just mirror neurons at work.
This concept of imitation is a huge factor in why we buy the things we do. Have you ever been disinterested in, or even repulsed by, a certain product, then after time, changed your mind? Maybe it’s a style of shoe you thought was hideous (say, Crocs) until you started seeing it on every third pair of feet you passed. Suddenly, you went from “Those are ugly” to “I have to have those—now.” My point is, sometimes just seeing a certain product over and over makes it more desirable. We see models in fashion magazines and we want to dress like them or make up our faces the way they do. We watch the rich and famous driving expensive cars and cavorting in their lavishly decorated homes and think, I want to live like that. We see our friend’s snazzy new LCD TV, or Bang & Olufsen telephone, and by God, we want one for ourselves.
But mirror neurons don’t work alone. Often, they work in tandem with dopamine, one of the brain’s pleasure chemicals. Dopamine is one of the most addictive substances known to man—and purchasing decisions are driven in some part by its seductive effects. When you see that shiny digital camera, or those flashy diamond earrings, for example, dopamine subtly flushes your brain with pleasure, then wham, before you know it, you’ve signed the credit card receipt (researchers generally agree that it takes as little as 2.5 seconds to make a purchasing decision).8 A few minutes later, as you exit the store, bag in hand, the euphoric feelings caused by the dopamine recede, and all of a sudden you wonder whether you’ll really ever use that damn camera or wear those earrings. Sound familiar?
Surely we’ve all heard the term “retail therapy.” And as we all know, whether our vice is shoes, CDs, or electronics, shopping