Sorry…I Just Need to Process This



“I feel the hairs stand on the back of my neck. A warm shiver runs up my spine, and goosebumps appear on my arms. It feels like something important is happening. I don’t know what exactly. But something is coming…Suddenly, my body is seized by a rapturous electricity; my mind is invigorated by an indescribable fusion of ecstasy, awe, despair, and longing. And in an instant, I realize something deep in my bones: This is what it feels like to be alive.


This is also what *frisson* feels like, as experienced by a teenager hearing Johnny Cash’s version of Trent Reznor’s “Hurt” for the first time. (https://lnkd.in/ei62dkAy) Frisson or “being moved” is overpowering, memorable and more complicated than you might think. We may aim for frisson, but often end up settling for easier targets like “heart-warming,” which are less interesting, distinctive or memorable.

Reactions to the song and video, from US hip-hop fans (https://lnkd.in/eVkgc7-D) to Asian tribal elders (https://lnkd.in/e2A4HrZ7), are almost uniformly full of head-shaking, silent weeping and stunned silences before someone says, “Sorry…I just need to process this.” Frisson practically compels you to process it: to identify its source and understand its meaning. It automatically feels interesting, that is, worth thinking about.

Frisson merges joy and sadness into a transcendent feeling of uplift and significance (https://lnkd.in/ezza2wg2). Some believe it’s an evolutionary response to sudden danger that turns out to be not-so-dangerous after all. It’s also been tied to certain musical features, including human vocal frequencies in the 2-3kHz range, signaling alarm (like Merry Clayton’s iconic backing vocals on “Gimme Shelter” (https://lnkd.in/eEiYf-cV)

No matter how you explain it, frisson reminds us that what we all want--the feeling of being alive--is not 100% positive. It requires an acknowledgement that some things we might prefer not be true are so anyway, and sometimes, that’s what gives our efforts meaning. Nothing authentic or significant is ever entirely positive, but you wouldn’t know it from most advertising.

Yet there is advertising that does incite frisson. Nike used the song “Hurt” (https://lnkd.in/eU3wAbse) to make an interesting point about sport: It hurts and you lose and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. You can make the hurt “a little less,” but you cannot eliminate it. Ponder that seemingly unpleasant reality and there is a good chance that your hair will stand on end and you will never forget it.

Which reminds me: Someone wrote to me yesterday to say that “the simple fact is that brands are unimportant to people,” “nobody cares about ads” and we should all just focus on consistency and “buying heuristics.” If you truly believe that no one cares about ads and you work in advertising, you may be the reason that nobody cares about (your) ads.

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