The perfect example of a sticky idea?
Conjunction Junction, what’s your ________?
Lolly, Lolly, Lolly Get Your ________?
I’m just a bill. Yes I’m only a bill, and I’m sitting here on ________?
If you’re like me, a child who grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons during the 70s and 80s, it’s a good bet that you had no trouble filling in the blanks. That’s right, I’m talking about that cultural phenomenon known as Schoolhouse Rock! — the series of educational, animated, musical shorts that aired from 1973 to 1986 and helped introduce a generation of kids to grammar, multiplication, science, and American history three minutes at a time.
I recently picked up the Schoolhouse Rock! retrospective DVD for my five year old and we got hooked into watching all 46 lessons. Beyond being hit by a nostalgic blast from the past, I was struck by how, after all these years, I instantly remembered all the songs and was able to sing along. But what really blew me away was the shows effect on my son. He was completely riveted and now, after watching just a couple of times, he walks around singing his times tables, telling everyone how the nervous system works, and reciting the preamble to the Constitution.
Could Schoolhouse Rock! be the quintessential example of what Dan and Chip Heath refer to in their book Made to Stick as a “Sticky Idea”? It certainly seems to successfully hit on all of the principles — the ditties do a great job of grabbing your attention, simplifying complex concepts, making dry subjects unexpectedly entertaining, using analogies to make the abstract more concrete, and making strong use of stories. The songs are exceptionally catchy and communicate information effortlessly.
In a profession in which we’re constantly striving to break through the clutter and have our messages understood and remembered, maybe there’s yet another lesson we can learn from Schoolhouse Rock! – How to make our own messages stick.
