So it turns out that if you and I dislike, say, Tom Cruise, we could become friends a lot more quickly than if we both actually like Tom Cruise.

That’s the conclusion of Jennifer Bosson and three colleagues in their study, “Interpersonal Chemistry Through Negativity: Bonding by Sharing Negative Attitudes About Others” recently published in the journal “Personal Relationships”.

If you look at some of the iconic brands of our time, brands that caught on almost overnight, you can see a pattern that seems to validate what Bosson is saying. Apple, HBO, E*TRADE, Snapple and quite a few others all seem to have been originally defined not so much by what they were as what they were not.

Apple wasn’t just a computer. It was the computer for the rest of us.

It wasn’t TV. It was HBO.

Yes, brands like these have a sharply differentiated positioning. A lot of money goes into advertising and, of course, the total brand experience is superior. Still, none of this explains the speed at which some brands seem to catch fire.

So what about it? Does Bosson’s study translate to brands? Is it possible that in the chemistry of branding, consumers are quicker to bond with brands that have a negative charge? And if that’s true, what does that say about us?