Persuasion, pride and prejudice: how ads work

Abstract

This paper compares the persuasion (strong) and reinforcement (weak) theories of advertising and uses neuroscience as the base for a third, MAC (Memory dominates Affect which in turn dominates Cognition), model of what advertising does for brands. All these models have practical significance for advertising strategy, creative briefing and client expectations. They set parameters for advertising research and measurement. The difficulty of measuring affect is not a good reason for ignoring it.