History Main / ReversePsychologyMarketing

* Perhaps the most infamous example of this trope (and one of the most famous examples of MisaimedMarketing in video games) is the ''[[VideoGame/EarthBound1994 EarthBound]]'' "This game stinks" ad campaign, which supplies the page image -- When Nintendo of America decided to localize ''Mother 2'', they decided that the best way to sell such a unique game to Americans wasn't to spotlight its story, characters, or quirky sense of humor in comparison to other [=RPGs=], but rather to focus on ToiletHumour. Described as "the first role playing game with B.O." by Nintendo Power magazine, every single print advertisement would declare that the game "stinks" with an accompanying illustration of a fart cloud and typically some additional fart-related joke written in. And as if that wasn't enough, several of these print ads also included ''[[NauseaFuel scratch and sniff sections with equally rancid scents]]'', [[FromBadToWorse which could in turn]] spread the scent to the entire magazine or even other pieces of mail if they weren't handled properly. Not only did this not properly reflect the contents of the game at all[[note]]while ''[=EarthBound=]'' does have some instances of toilet humour, it's not nearly as pronounced as these ads would've had you believe; in fact a few of the jokes were ''removed'' during localization[[/note]] but it also [[GoneHorriblyWrong went horribly wrong]] -- or, in a twisted way, [[GoneHorriblyRight went horribly]] ''[[GoneHorriblyRight right]]'' -- as the only thing ad campaign succeeded in accomplishing was turning players away. This resulted in the game selling horribly stateside, and while it has gone on to be VindicatedByHistory, the effects of this marketing blunder can still be felt today as Nintendo barely acknowledges the series outside of Japan and actively refuses to localize [[VideoGame/Mother3 the third entry]].

->''"The [[UsefulNotes/VirtualBoy Virtual Boy's]] marketing was bizarre. Many commercials portrayed it as a B-movie monster with the player running away from it. Ah, reverse psychology, not a bad idea."''

->''"The [[UsefulNotes/VirtualBoy Virtual Boy's]] marketing was bizarre. Many commercials portrayed it as a B-movie monster with the player running away from it. Ah, reverse psychology, [[SarcasmMode not a bad idea.]]"''

* LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}} will occasionally invoke this with his video titles:

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/{{Earthbound}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/earthbound_this_game_stinks.png]]]]

* Perhaps the most infamous example of this trope (and one of the most famous examples of MisaimedMarketing in video games) is with the ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'' "This game stinks" ad campaign, which supplies the page image -- When Nintendo of America decided to localize ''Mother 2'', they decided that the best way to sell such a unique game to Americans wasn't to spotlight its story, characters, or quirky sense of humor in comparison to other [=RPGs=], but rather to focus on ToiletHumour. Described as "the first role playing game with B.O." by Nintendo Power magazine, every single print advertisement would declare that the game "stinks" with an accompanying illustration of a fart cloud and typically some additional fart-related joke written in. And as if that wasn't enough, several of these print ads also included ''[[NauseaFuel scratch and sniff sections with equally rancid scents]]'', [[FromBadToWorse which could in turn]] spread the scent to the entire magazine or even other pieces of mail if they weren't handled properly. Not only did this not properly reflect the contents of the game at all[[note]]while ''Earthbound'' does have some instances of toilet humour, it's not nearly as pronounced as these ads would've had you believe; in fact a few of the jokes were ''removed'' during localization[[/note]] but it also [[GoneHorriblyWrong went horribly wrong]] -- or, in a twisted way, [[GoneHorriblyRight went horribly]] ''[[GoneHorriblyRight right]]'' -- as the only thing ad campaign succeeded in accomplishing was turning players away. This resulted in the game selling horribly stateside, and while it has gone on to be VindicatedByHistory, the effects of this marketing blunder can still be felt today as Nintendo barely acknowledges the series outside of Japan and actively refuses to localize [[VideoGame/Mother3 the third entry]].

By keeping your customers completely confused and shell-shocked with the shift between giving them their dreams and then crushing those dreams before their eyes, StockholmSyndrome will soon set in and they will become your mindless minions. Unable to resist buying whatever merchandise you set before them.

* Our own example is SugarWiki/BetterThanItSounds. Admit it: You write unappealing summaries for your favorite shows only to advertise them to other tropers, or at the very least, amuse tropers who are familiar with the series.
* Volkswagen used a mild example of this trope when advertising the original VW Beetle in the US, including a famous one with basketball's Wilt Chamberlain stating, "They said it couldn't be done (fit Chamberlain into a Bug)." {{Beat}}. [[http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/ads/1966_theysaid.jpg "It couldn't."]] Another had a model of the Apollo program's lunar lander with a VW logo on the side, which said "It's ugly, but it gets you there."
* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'':

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion: Death and Rebirth'': So they ran out of money for the last two episodes of ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', but we are told we are going to get a movie to finish the story. Then we get ''Death and Rebirth'', which was only half of the movie. That was seen as either jerking the fans around in order to hype the future release of ''End of Evangelion'', which was the full movie or a pointed attempt NOT to viewers around. Gainax just didn't have the movie ready, and they wanted to put out ''something'' for the fans.
* RealLife example, [[http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/business/28borker.html&OQ=_rQ3D1Q26pagewantedQ3Dall&OP=412858caQ2FOQ3DHwO4htBQ7DhhPnOnQ3CQ20Q3COQ20Q20OnKOwVB@LHBBOnKwhQ7DeHQ7DQ22kPiD Vitaly Borker]]. Running an online company "Decor My Eyes" that sells eye ware. When a customers complains that he didn't fill their order correctly, he refuses to refund their money. He even has gone as far as sending ominous and vaguely threatening emails to the complaining customer. This causes the customers to complain to industry watchgroups. Because his site is mentioned on these sites his google score goes up, thus bringing in more customers than he loses. During his interview with the New York Times, Mr. Borker openly explains that this is his deliberate strategy.
* One wonders if this trope is what Tiger Electronics had in mind when they released [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp460zM_PGA this gem.]] Of course, [[HarsherInHindsight given how long that game.com lasted on the market...]]
* Creator/TelltaleGames decided to announce their [[VideoGame/PokerNight2 crossover game]] starring VideoGame/{{Sam|AndMaxFreelancePolice}}, [[WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers Brock Samson]], [[VideoGame/{{Borderlands}} Claptrap]], and [[Franchise/EvilDead Ash Williams]] on April 1st, making many assume it was just an elaborate joke.
** Similarly, the anime spinoff ''Anime/PowerpuffGirlsZ'' was first announced on April 1st. Most people believed this was a hoax as well.
** Averted when Sega announced ''VideoGame/NiGHTSJourneyOfDreams'' on April Fools Day as the date is actually significant in the series (mainly as a way to unlock Reala).

* The film ''Crazy People'' is about an ad executive who has a nervous breakdown, then enlists the help of the people in the psychiatric hospital he's sent to and makes adverts that use this trope, being entirely honest about what the product's really about or its negative aspects.

-->-- '''WebVideo/ScottTheWoz''', "Virtual Boy: I've Seen Better"

* One wonders if this trope is what Tiger Electronics had in mind when they released [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp460zM_PGA this gem.]] Of course, [[FunnyAneurysmMoment given how long that game.com lasted on the market...]]

* Whether it's intentional or not, Yorkie bars used to pull this off. "It's not for girls," so girls bought them to be contrary. That'll sure show Cadbury! Plus, it got people talking about how sexist that is. However, the point was probably actually to market them to boys and men. In any case, they've phased out that slogan nowadays.

** Similarly, the anime spinoff ''Anime/DemashitaPowerpuffGirlsZ'' was first announced on April 1st. Most people believed this was a hoax as well.

** Averted when Sega announced ''[[VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams NiGHTS: Journey Of Dreams]]'' on April Fools Day as the date is actually significant in the series (mainly as a way to unlock Reala).

** The first episode of the first season had an opening with poor camera focus, an off key opening song, incomprehensible plot, terrible special effects, and all sorts of flagrant errors in production. Consider that this is an anime, which means all the bad elements had to be deliberately created. Oh, and also, the rest of the season was in AnachronicOrder.

* One wonders if this trope is what Tiger Electronics had in mind when they released [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp460zM_PGA this gem.]] Of course, [[FunnyAneurysmMoment given how long the game.com lasted on the market...]]

* Volkswagen used a mild example of this trope when advertising the original VW Beetle in the US, including a famous one with basketball's Wilt Chamberlain stating, "They said it couldn't be done(fit Chamberlain into a Bug)." {{Beat}}. [[http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/ads/1966_theysaid.jpg "It couldn't."]] Another had a model of the Apollo program's lunar lander with a VW logo on the side, which said "It's ugly, but it gets you there."

** No one was more offended than Dirk Benedict, the actor who had played Starbuck. His rant, if you have not read it, is [[http://web.archive.org/web/20090210022453/http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/dbenedict/2009/01/19/lt-starbuck-lost-in-castration/ legendary]]... for its HeManWomanHater-level frothing, insane StayInTheKitchen misogyny (guy's psychotic enough to actually say ''"Men hand out cigars. Women `hand out' babies."'' You have been warned). However, all the press from this is probably what gave the BSG execs the idea to execute this trope.

** Averted when Sega announced ''[[NiGHTSIntoDreams NiGHTS: Journey Of Dreams]]'' on April Fools Day as the date is actually significant in the series (mainly as a way to unlock Reala).

* Volkswagen used a mild example of this trope when advertising the original VW Beetle in the US, including a famous one with basketball's Wilt Chamberlain stating, "They said it couldn't be done(fit Chamberlain into a Bug)." {{Beat}}. [[http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/ads/1966_theysaid.jpg "It couldn't.]] Another had a model of the Apollo program's lunar lander with a VW logo on the side, which said "It's ugly, but it gets you there."

* Volkswagen used a mild example of this trope when advertising the original VW Beetle in the US, including a famous one with basketball's Wilt Chamberlain stating, "They said it couldn't be done(fit Chamberlain into a Bug)." {{Beat}}. "It couldn't." Another had a model of the Apollo program's lunar lander with a VW logo on the side, which said "It's ugly, but it gets you there."

* Volkswagen used a mild example of this trope when advertising the original VW Beetle in the US, including a famous one with basketball's Dr. J stating, "They bet we couldn't fit Dr. J into a Beetle." {{Beat}}. "We couldn't." Another had a model of the Apollo program's lunar lander with a VW logo on the side, which said "It's ugly, but it gets you there."

* TelltaleGames decided to announce their [[VideoGame/PokerNight2 crossover game]] starring VideoGame/{{Sam|AndMaxFreelancePolice}}, [[WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers Brock Samson]], [[VideoGame/{{Borderlands}} Claptrap]], and [[Franchise/EvilDead Ash Williams]] on April 1st, making many assume it was just an elaborate joke.

* The makers of ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}'' were a bit like this during the last few season breaks. They also went out of their way to offend fanboys of the [[Series/BattlestarGalacticaClassic original BSG series]], the ones who had been dreaming of new stuff for 20 years. They took Starbuck, the most masculine character in the show, and turned him into a woman. After some fans dubbed the series "GINO" (Galactica In Name Only), the creators said they would address it in a coming episode. They did— by naming a character who is repeatedly raped and beaten "Gina".

** Similarly, the anime spinoff ''PowerpuffGirlsZ'' was first announced on April 1st. Most people believed this was a hoax as well.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion: Death and Rebirth'': So they ran out of money for the last two episodes of ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', but we are told we are going to get a movie to finish the story. Then we get ''Death and Rebirth'', which was only half of the movie. That was seen as either jerking the fans around in order to hype the future release of ''EndOfEvangelion'', which was the full movie or a pointed attempt NOT to viewers around. Gainax just didn't have the movie ready, and they wanted to put out ''something'' for the fans.

* One wonders if this trope is what Tiger Electronics had in mind when they released [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp460zM_PGA this gem.]] Of curse, [[FunnyAneurysmMoment given how long the game.com lasted on the market...]]

** I should add: No one was more offended than Dirk Benedict, the actor who had played Starbuck. His rant, if you have not read it, is [[http://web.archive.org/web/20090210022453/http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/dbenedict/2009/01/19/lt-starbuck-lost-in-castration/ legendary]]... for its HeManWomanHater-level frothing, insane StayInTheKitchen misogyny (guy's psychotic enough to actually say ''"Men hand out cigars. Women `hand out' babies."'' You have been warned). However, all the press from this is probably what gave the BSG execs the idea to execute this trope.
* The depressing ad by 6 Hour Power which was basically a picture of a few bottles of the energy drink and a dry narrator voice giving a pitch that more or less amounted to "Please buy our product, please." After seeing that, if I had actually bought the thing I'd be satisfied just to know there was liquid in the bottle.