Many years ago I worked for a large international airline with the initials B and A. Like most large organizations we indulged in conferences for managers, and one I attended had the best example I’ve ever seen of using something positive to demotivate people, a tricky technique that is more common than you might think.

Each of us had a numbered handout on our seat and were told this was our entry in a draw at the end of the day. When the time came there was lots of smoke, lasers and music, and the dramatic announcement: here’s the prize. A car smashed through the (polystyrene) backdrop on stage. A real car. That was dramatic. We were out of our seats. It was an exiting show, and, best of all, one of us was going to win a car. Serious stuff.

Yes, the announcer went on, one of you lucky people will win this car… for a six month hire.

Ah. A six month hire of a car is an impressive prize – but when you were expecting to win the thing outright it’s a huge disappointment. Someone messed up royally.

You may, by now be wondering about the dinosaurs. I tell the story of the car, because a recent PR stunt reminded me of it.

It featured in a press release for a National Geographic channel (UK) show called Dino Death Trap. (If you’re interested, it premieres Sunday December 9th at 8pm and features one of these pits with piles of dinobones. You can see a preview here)

As a hook, it used an experience. Here’s what it said:

In support of this upcoming special, National Geographic has asked that I invite you to experience Dino Central Park. Featuring a hidden “webcam” in Central Park, the website allows users to scare the pants off of unsuspecting New Yorkers walking through the park by controlling a virtual Dino hidden in the bushes!

So far, so good. But hidden way down the release is the small print. Disclaimer: Dino Central Park is for entertainment purposes only, and does not feature an actual webcam. It’s a simulation.

Boy, was I disappointed. No, really. It wouldn’t have been too difficult to do this for real, and it would have been so much fun. (If Central Park objected, they could have done it at a theme park.) So what is a nice little applet was ruined by that sense of false promise.

Big lesson for life: don’t over-sell, it will only lead to disappointment and resentment.

Second moral: Despite that lesson, you can get away with it to some extent. I was generous enough to mention their TV show, so the press release succeeded. But that’s only because I’m a very nice person and wanted to make a point.