Vanilla is medium. Vanilla is safe. Vanilla is 'Plan B' - as in, "if I don't like anything else offered, I'll just take vanilla." Vanilla is average. It's not disappointing; it's not remarkable. It's worse: it's nothing.
Don't be vanilla with sprinkles. Vanilla with sprinkles is an average pig with Revlon lipstick.
People don't want average. People want dissonance. People want two things at once, each balancing the other.
Ever drive down the highway in the spring, window open and cool air streaming in, with the heater on? Absolutely.
Ever crave salty AND sweet? Absolutely. That's why 'Crunch 'N Munch' is so popular: two competing tastes beats boring old popcorn.
Cliches are vanilla. Nothing about the phrase, "we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause" actually appeases the inconvenienced. Nothing about it is memorable; nothing sticks.
There IS such a thing as perfect vanilla, of course. Some people even like vanilla. There's also such a thing as perfect mediocriy.
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