Torture Tests

The Torture Test Guide provides six tactics that show what happens when you push your product, people or idea to extremes. Whether it’s through fire, altitude, discomfort or data, these tests don’t just demonstrate performance—they dramatise belief.

What’s Inside

• 6 extreme tactics from endurance stress tests to emotional or environmental challenges
• Campaigns from Tide, Ariel, Porsche, Dairy Queen, MJ Bale, Carlsberg, Renault, Glad Bags, IKEA and more
• GPT prompts to help you design your own high-pressure experiments
• A cheat sheet to turn brand proof into unforgettable storytelling

Sneak Peek: Aspirational Category Testing

Brief: Prove how tough your bin bags really are.

Glad Bags checked in garbage bags filled with rubbish at some of America’s worst-rated airports for baggage handling. The idea? If they can survive these infamous luggage-destroying conveyor systems, they can survive anything at home. Brutal proof, delivered with a grin. Other brands punched above their weight too:

• Ariel’s “Fashion Laundry” sold detergent-washed clothes as new in boutique stores.
• 7-Eleven turned corner shop coffee into skincare products—elevating the product through context.
• IKEA got literary critics to review its catalogue like it was high literature.

Each one elevated the category by testing it outside its comfort zone.