More on Neuroscience and Marketing

SLiK812 writes "The NYTimes is running a story about how marketing companies are using neuroscience to determine how to reach a consumer's buy button more efficiently. A quote from the article, 'At issue is whether marketers can exploit advances in brain science to make more effective commercials. Is there a "buy button" in the brain? Some corporations have teamed up with neuroscientists to find out. Recent experiments in so-called neuromarketing have explored reactions to movie trailers, choices about automobiles, the appeal of a pretty face and gut reactions to political campaign advertising, as well as the power of brand loyalty.' Some groups have branded this as Orwellian. I pretty sure I saw the child of this tactic in Futurama somewhere." There's a related story in the The Independent. We've had previous stories on using MRI scans to market products.

Comments

Re:Subliminal messaging?

[Da Fokka]

That's an urban legend. See Snopes.

Quote:
You see, Vicary lied about the results of his experiment. When he was challenged to repeat the test by the president of the Psychological Corporation, Dr. Henry Link, Vicary's duplication of his original experiment produced no significant increase in popcorn or Coca-Cola sales. Eventually Vicary confessed that he had falsified the data from his first experiments, and some critics have since expressed doubts that he actually conducted his infamous Ft. Lee experiment at all.

Here's a workaround

[darth_MALL]

Memorize THIS. Think of nothing else! WOOOEEEEEEOOOOOOOO.

Re:Orwellian?

[Jtheletter]

Folks, it's not Orwellian unless it is backed by a totalitarian state. Most of your fears would be better directed at a Huxleyan future.

Heh, most of your readers would be better directed at a dictionary. ;)

Incidentally, for those like myself who haven't heard of this term, here you go.
Don't say I never gave ya nothing.

(excerpted from here) "What [Thomas] Huxley teaches is that in the age of advanced technology, spiritual devastation is more likely to come from an enemy with a smiling face than from one whose countenance exudes suspicion and hate. In the Huxleyan prophecy, Big Brother does not watch us, by his choice. We watch him, by ours. There is no need for wardens or gates or Ministries of Truth. When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; culture-death is a clear possibility"

Re:Orwellian?

[Anonymous Coward]

Aldous Huxley.
I don't know where you got Thomas from, but if you're referring to the writer of "Brave new world", it was Aldous Huxley.

Re:Orwellian?

[arlandbayes]

Thomas Huxley was a British biologist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.H._Huxley
Aldous is Thomas' grandson.