The plenary speaker of the 2010 American Dental Association Conference walked to his podium, accepted the audience's applause, and began speaking. The lights in the auditorium were dimmed for his PowerPoint presentation, and the more than 500 dentists in attendance shifted in their seats and became more comfortable.
His baritone voice was deep, rich, and soothing.
Five minutes into his PowerPoint, the first few attendees, most of whom had arrived on overnight flights, started nodding off, but he continued undeterred. As he made his way through his PowerPoint, more and more of the audience--the most powerful and successful dentists in the country--fell asleep.
By the 20 minute mark, more than half the audience was under.
After another 10 minutes, the speaker himself was the only person in the auditorium who was awake.
His voice gradually faded to a whisper and then he stopped talking entirely for one minute. When nobody moved and he was sure they were all asleep, he took out his cell phone and made a quick call.
Less than a minute later, all the doors to the auditorium opened and scores of men in black jumpsuits, helmets, and facemasks entered the room. They fanned out across the hall, and flashed a red penlight in the eyes of each of the dentists before injecting their necks with a tiny needle.
Once this was finished, the men in black left the room as quietly as they'd entered it, the plenary speaker snapped his finger, and all of the dentists immediately awoke from their trance. Without skipping a beat, the plenary speaker wrapped up his speech, the dentists applauded, and they all filed out of the room to go to dinner.
About a month after the conference, the American Dental Association issued a press release with this headline: Consensus reached! Five out of five dentists surveyed recommend sugarless gum to their patients who chew gum.
And Trident's stock went through the roof.
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