Making Ads That Whisper to the Brain

[roxiejules]

NYT

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/business/14stream.html

Major corporations and research firms, he says, are jumping on the neuromarketing bandwagon because they are desperate for any novel technique to help them break through all the marketing clutter.

"It’s having an effect on individuals that individuals are not informed about,” and should be regulated, says Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, which works to safeguard digital privacy.

Mr. Chester says the government traditionally hasn’t restricted advertising for adults because adults have defense mechanisms that can distinguish between truth and untruth. “But if the advertising is now purposely designed to bypass those rational defenses, then the traditional legal defenses protecting advertising speech in the marketplace have to be questioned.”

“If I persuaded you to choose Toothpaste A or Toothpaste B, you haven’t really lost much, but if I persuaded you to choose President A or President B, the consequences could be much more profound,” Dr. Pradeep says. “The fact that we can use this technology to do this doesn’t mean we should.”

[DJ13]

1. What a waste of time

Just get the government to force people to buy the product like the insurance companies did.

Problem solved.

[BadgerKid]

2. Profit trumps informed consent.

Funny how research studies require informed consent of human subjects, but corporations get a pass.

[Historic NY]

3. Well they used it successfully in the mid-term election commercials.

demonizing the Democrats.

[yurbud]

4. I followed links to one of firms that does this, and they posted ads they analyzed

it would have been just as easy to figure out which ads would be effective using conventional focus groups or the instincts of a good ad man or campaign consultant.

Ironically, the aqua buddha ad probably failed because Rand Paul's behavior described in the add was so weird on so many different levels, people couldn't absorb it. If it had been just about mocking religion or just about kidnapping a girl in college, it might have worked.

[nunyabidness]

5. Every 20 years or so this floats up to the top. Endorsed by Bigfoot.

Oooohh.....I`m really thirsty watching this movie....I need a Coke!

[Uncle Joe]

6. The issue isn't whether subliminal advertising worked in the movie "Picnic" or not, what you should

be asking is, was it moral/ethical to try it in the first place?

Has scientific knowledge in regards to human psychology, marketing and measuring such results advanced since the 1950s?

Finally will those skills and technologies continue to advance?

I believe the answer to the first question is no and the answer to the second two most assuredly yes.

There is no doubt in my mind that if those current dynamics continue; at some point they will succeed and most people will succumb to psychological manipulation.

As one of the Doctors in the article stated, this may not mean much in choosing Brand A toothpaste over Brand B, but it can have profound implications when choosing political leaders or voting on the major issues of the day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subliminal_advertising

[pscot]

7. My all time favorite

is the cereal ad. A stocky middle-aged guy in full Carhart is eating a bowl of cereal on a construction jobsite. Says it keeps him regular. He puts one foot on a box, leans forward at the waist and looks into the camera. A dumptruck backs into the middle background and spills a load of bricks. It looks like they're falling out of the guys ass. Keeps ya regular. You'll shit bricks.
:rofl:

[KoKo]

8. Excellent Read! K&R!