What Can We Learn from 'The Traitors' About Generating Cultural Power?

(Photograph: BBC/Studio Lambert)

It’s currently one of the nation’s top 10 topics of conversation, was the Halloween costume of choice, and has inspired numerous TikTok memes. Not to mention attracting the UK’s third largest TV audience this decade (outside of news or sport).

In a relatively short time, 'The Traitors' has achieved the kind of fervent cultural influence any brand would give its entire marketing budget for. 

So, what can we learn from 'The Traitors' phenomenon, and its ability to create extraordinary Cultural Power?

We’ll assume you’re familiar with the show’s format, whether or not you’re heavily invested in Series 4. (No spoilers here). 

And that’s perhaps the first point: 'The Traitors'’ format is delightfully simple. Deceptively so perhaps, as the complex machinations it sparks mount up. Everything about the staging, framing and presentation of the show is in service to a dark world of “traitory”. Audiences can get the concept instantly and get into it rapidly. 

This allows for remarkable consistency. With not just a distinctive asset at play, but a whole ‘asset world’ of turrets, owls, druids, coffins, cloaks, daggers, shields and scrolls. It’s a depth of platform few advertisers achieve.

But beneath the theatricality, there are perhaps three more fundamental ingredients at play.

Ingredient 1: Conviction

'The Traitors' is premised on a conviction that aligns perfectly with the post-truth world we now occupy. A conviction based on the currency of knowledge.  

And the fact that currency is unevenly distributed is what gives it such vicarious power. 

From the identity of 'The Traitors', to the possession of a shield, knowledge is concealed and revealed at carefully choreographed moments. Being ‘in the know’ is a distinct privilege. 

And we viewers are of course automatically granted that privilege. Or at least we were until the introduction of the red-cloaked secret traitor.  

For the first time, that innovation put the audience in the shoes of the humble faithful, graphically illustrating the currency of knowledge through the poverty of not having it. Simultaneously, it unnerved and undercut the black-cloaked traitors, by depriving them of a critical piece of knowledge. 

So, 'The Traitors' plays out its conviction that knowledge is a currency with aplomb, using it as a source of cultural traction. In subsequent series, we can expect to see further innovations around this conviction

Ingredient 2: Communities

'The Traitors' is not for a particular community. It manages to engage a whole range of communities. 

The celebrity final not only reached audiences of close to 15m, but it also did the unheard of, and got young people watching live, along with older viewers. 

The show itself is a great leveller. Anyone can have an opinion, and participation has no barrier. It’s interesting that shows that have a more official way to ‘have your vote’ actually feel like they get less audience participation. 

In a fractured world where, according to Edelman Trust Barometer, we trust people who are different to us less than ever before, 'The Traitors' brings together a cast of people that cross age, class, profession and geography barriers. 

But this isn’t just a community thing, it’s part of the game play. What professions set you up best or worst to be a traitor? Are you a doctor saving lives by day and killing by night? People hide where they’re from (remember Charlotte?) to appear more trustful, and the most intellectually smart aren’t necessarily the best game players (see Stephen Fry).

The brand is able to create fan communities and sub communities around individual players but also tap into parallel communities like the one around hun culture, which has seen Fiona being crowned the first hun of 2026. 

Ingredient 3: Conversations

'The Traitors' has perfected the playbook on how to create, join and change conversations. 

Timing is everything. It’s no coincidence that this last series aired at the start of January when, let’s face it, we’ve all hunkered down and are trying to make it past Blue Monday. 

But there’s also the content flow, pulsing weekly on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to build the narrative, but with a deliberate pause in content to allow for the cultural conversation to fill the gaps.

We are entering a new era of conspiracy TV where it’s not hinged just on one watercooler moment discussing the previous episode’s cliffhanger, but a layered, easter egg-laden series of moments that allow audiences to go as deep as they want. 

The ‘connections’ theory that has been breadcrumbed from the start with the family tree, and lingering camera shots of the second envelope, has led to social media sleuthing and tons of conversation. 

There’s an obvious lesson for brands thinking about how they can time and layer their content to maximise conversation. 

In conclusion

For us so called ‘communications professionals’, perhaps the most important learning concerns what we deem ‘important’ and ‘professional’.  

Watching a bunch of people playing an entertaining game about trust and deception may not be many people’s idea of ‘work’.  

But, in order to resonate nowadays, communications need to be fluent in culture.  

For all that 'The Traitors' may just be fun, understanding what passes as fun can teach us a lot about how to create Cultural Power. 

You might be interested to learn, for instance, that there are two countries where 'The Traitors'’ franchise has not been such a huge success: Australia and New Zealand. It seems betrayal-based reality doesn’t fly in those more egalitarian, less cynical cultures.  

So, if ever there was an excuse to spend three hours a week studying shamelessly popular TV, this is it.