Why Cinderella’s Not A Good Marketing Story

Storytelling for business works differently from fairy tales.

Many storytelling books use fairy tales to demonstrate master storytelling. The truth is, that fairy tales don’t translate to great business stories.

Take Cinderella, for example. A great fairy tale…a lousy marketing story. In case it’s been a while since you heard the original story, it goes like this

Cinderella’s stuck with a mean stepmother. She’s forced to work as an unpaid servant, performing difficult and unpleasant chores, waiting on her sisters. There’s no mention off her father, who married this evil woman and then seemingly disappeared.

Cinderella’s last straw moment comes when the local prince holds a big dance party at the local palace. The stepsisters and stepmother refuse to let Cinderella go. So here’s the poor girl, sitting by the ashes in the fireplace (hence the name “Cinder-ella”) when her fairy godmother appears.

With a wave of her wand, the godmother gives Cinderella a beautiful gown, a coach and horses, and those famous glass slippers.

Cinderella dances with the prince, who falls in love with her. She barely makes it home before her coach turns into a pumpkin and the horses into mice. In her haste, she leaves one of her glass slippers behind at the palace.