How Companies Can Overcome The Superhero Fallacy When Telling Stories

I grew up with a father who was a consummate storyteller. I would watch him and even at a young age, I could see a difference between those who told stories and those who enjoyed consuming them. As I grew up, I realized that his talent was uncommon. Few people could hold the attention of a group of people in the palm of their hand.

And so I have been interested in great storytellers for some time. Part of the skill seems to be in knowing what a great story is and how to craft it and the other part is in the delivery. I was fascinated to find a Hollywood insider who has written a book entitled The Best Story Wins: How to Leverage Hollywood Storytelling in Business and Beyond. Matthew Luhn, a writer, story-branding consultant, and keynote speaker has nearly 20 years of experience at Pixar Animation Studios (story credits include Toy Story 2 and 3, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and Up).

This is the fifth part of a series I’m writing based on his insight. The first article provided insight on five ads that tell great stories. The second was about the power of storytelling, and the third about the mistakes that marketers make attempting to tell stories.  The fourth is about when to use the CEO as a superhero. In this article, Matthew dives into the “The Superhero Fallacy”.

Kimberly Whitler: What is the Superhero Fallacy?

Matthew Luhn: Simply put, the Superhero Fallacy is a mistake we all make when we tell stories, but it can be even more pronounced when companies or business leaders tell stories. The gist is that when we tell stories, we tend to want make ourselves the hero. Marketers do the same thing. As they craft commercials or speeches, the hero is often the CEO or the firm. This is actually a mistake. The superhero of the story should be the audience.

Whitler: Can you elaborate on why this is?

Luhn: Unfortunately, most people don’t know how to craft and tell a great story. They may have learned about rising and falling action or read that you need a hero and villain, but that’s it. And so you have a marketing team trying to decide who the hero is. Well we are the hero. The CEO is the hero. The founder is the hero. Every salesperson at the company is a superhero. I was walking down the street recently and there is a company that has “superhero banker” stickers all over the windows. I was working with a fashion company and each individual product was supposed to be a superhero. Stop making yourself the hero. However, it is built in our psyches that we see ourselves as the hero in the story.

Whitler: So what should marketers do instead?

Luhn: Your company should share stories about making your customers, consumers, or clients the hero. You want to tell a story that helps the targets be the hero—and reach their goals. If you look at Hollywood stories, at the beginning, the heroes aren’t the best version of themselves. They go through a journey that is peppered with obstacles. But the hero persists on the journey because they are trying to accomplish a goal. They want to defeat the bad guy, get a treasure, win the woman. And throughout the 90-minute journey, there are a lot of obstacles.

At the beginning of the story, the hero isn’t the best version of himself or herself. During the course of overcoming the obstacles, they become the best version of themselves. Let me give you a personal example. Most parents have a goal to become a better parent. My wife right now is sick at home and we have three kids. But moms can’t take breaks. She has to overcome the sickness to make sure the kids are clothed, fed, and off to school. She can’t take a break. The goal is to get the kids to school. The obstacle is that life happens. The companies that help consumers reach their goal, through advice, products, or services, are catalysts for helping my wife, in this case, achieve her goal. My wife is right now at home taking Dayquil and Nyquil. These products enable her, and this is the key, to become a superhero to overcome adversity and accomplish her goal. The marketers of Dayquil and Nyquil most likely want their products to be the hero. I advise companies to flip this narrative. Put the consumer in the middle and you as the service provider, as the mentors, allies, and advisors that create and provide the tools that enable an ordinary mom to become a superhero. The Dayquil and Nyquil products are the magical tool.

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