You Fell for the Humidor Mind-Trick

Let’s do one of my thought experiments. Read to the end…

Are you ready?

NO,

I’m gonna start anyway. Just like I do on the Meet in the Middle Cigar Show every week. (Glengarry Glen Ross come to mind?)

Next Episode

By the way, on October 26, it’s our Halloween Episode featuring the El Mago Místico Robusto. Wear your costume and be ready to jump into the action.

How to Watch

I made this link for you: How to Watch the Show

The Thought Experiment Begins…

Imagine you’re at a local cigar shop, looking at the options inside a humidor.

Almost without thinking,

you point to a dark,

oily cigar,

skipping over a lighter one.

This kind of choice is familiar to any cigar smoker.

We weigh factors such as potential flavor, brand, and strength, but a significant part of our decision begins with how the cigar looks.

But how does our brain make that choice so quickly?

Our brains are complex at work long before we consciously make a decision.

Just moments after seeing a cigar, our mind is already analyzing its qualities at lightning speed.

A Peek Inside Our Brain

Our brains are wired to process visual information incredibly fast. This can create a bias, leading us to choose cigars that look appealing over ones that might better suit our taste.

Perhaps a cigar with a flawless, shiny wrapper has an advantage because our brain processes it as if a cigar with a flawless, shiny wrapper has an edge for a simple reason? Our brain processes its good looks before we can even begin to imagine its flavor.

LeeMack912 prefers visual variety in his cigars. Consequently, he tends to skip over brands like Arturo Fuente, where the cigars often share the same color and nearly identical bands.

We could peek inside his brain during this moment. In that case, we’d likely see a flurry of activity just milliseconds after a cigar is seen. Information about its wrapper color, size, and the overall quality of its appearance would be registered almost instantly.

The qualities we have to imagine, like taste and aroma, would follow slightly later.

Deciding Before You’ve Decided

Does this suggest our choices are shaped before we’re even aware of them?

The brain seems to judge cigars along two key lines:

Craftsmanship: How perfectly constructed and appealing does the cigar look?

Anticipation: How much does its appearance make you want to smoke it?

These two factors are evaluated in a split second, guiding us toward one cigar over another. This is especially true when we buy cigars online or choose from a picture menu, where looks are all we have to go on.

While we all know that the smell and feel of a cigar are vital parts of the experience, the journey often begins with a single, rapid glance. The old saying holds true when it comes true to food:

“…we eat with our eyes first…”

Thanks for Indulging

So, a little about me: I’ve been kicking around the marketing world for 30 years and even have a Master’s Degree in the craft. I’m completely fascinated by how it all works, and I really enjoy writing about it.

If that’s your kind of thing, let me know in the comments!

(Full disclosure: I’m doing it either way, hahaha).

Mark