A new theory has been developed, all around trying to instigate behaviour change. The thinking behind this is quite simple, if you make things fun for people, you are more likely to change people’s behaviour.

The first video launched to showcase this new theory demonstrates how true this can be.  A normal staircase is turned into a giant musical piano, to try and encourage people to walk on the stairs rather than the escalators. The escalators remain untouched whilst people of all ages have a little musical game on the piano stairs.

The video is a great piece of content which illustrates the theory in a simple and imaginative way. You replace the negative associations of huffing and puffing up stairs with an interactive, new and fun activity. The results therefore come as no surprise at all (66% more people tried the stairs than the escalator).

Whilst the video provides a few minutes of entertainment, I have to remain a bit of a cynic. For a few minutes I try to imagine installing the musical piano to the busy London Underground in the hope that angsty commuters can become a little more light hearted in the morning rush to work  (plus getting that extra bit of exercise we all do our best to keep up but fail miserably at – or at least I try)…And the bubble bursts…

I don’t think that Volkswagen has suddenly found the answer to all our problems. Whilst it’s created some great video content, in reality, how long will it take for people to get bored of the stairs and the annoying noise, because no-one can actually play a song on it, becomes more than some people can bear…

It will be interesting to see what other content is developed around this fun theory. I caught a glimpse of the world’s deepest bin, so have a look and judge for yourself.

Can we all adopt a bit more positive thinking and make this world a more fun place to live in…?