Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice: How ads work

Compares the persuasion (strong) and reinforcement (weak) theories of advertising and uses neuroscience as a basis for a third model of what advertising does for brands: MAC (Memory dominates Affect which in turn dominates Cognition).

Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice: How Ads Work

Tim Ambler Senior Fellow, London Business School

Two recent events prompt a return to this subject: the first is an analysis of the entries to the 1998 IPA Advertising Effectiveness Awards which reveals that the traditional persuasion theory (ne AIDA1) remains, after 100 years, the most frequent practitioner model of how advertising works. Those entering their ads for the awards were asked how they thought their advertising had worked. The persuasive hierarchy was checked by 17 out of 48 respondents, more than any other. The next most frequent...

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