Business Strategy Review, 2000, Volume 11 Issue 3, pp 17-30

Brands on the Brain:

Neuro-Images of Advertising
Tim Ambler, Andreas Ioannides and Steven Rose

Neuroscience is opening a new chapter of Thomas O’Guinn and Larry Percy

understanding in many fields. One such suggest, along with other work, they
is how advertising works. For the first may point towards a revolution in
time we can directly “see” some effects of advertising research.
advertisements on the brain’s activity.
Scary as it may sound, if an ad does not modify the
This article reports two small-scale brains of the intended audience, then it has not
experiments into the differential effects of worked. The response to advertising (how we encode
advertising’s rational and emotional the message) matters more than the stimulus (the ad
itself) because the response is what the ad leaves
components. Advertising has long been behind. Of course, different ads communicate different
seen as providing reasons to buy, however things in different ways. Most importantly, we get the
subtle. In academic research at least, the same message in different ways and the message is
context dependent: a 19th century French man would
importance of emotion has often been not have had the same take on an ad as a 21st century
downplayed. The preliminary experiment American woman does today. But in any given context,
if managers knew how advertisement stimuli were
reported here shows how emotional ads
received and stored by the brain, and how they affect
are more likely to be remembered. The brand choices at a later date, they could improve
second experiment uses brain imaging to advertising productivity.
investigate the part of the brain which Researchers and practitioners have been seeking to
responds to emotionally-engaging discover how advertising works for a century or more.
(“affective”) and reason-engaging For most researchers, ads were thought to work
rationally, though perhaps non-consciously.
(“cognitive”) advertising stimuli. These Information was thought to be encoded (eg “the
are very early days in using brain-imaging unique selling proposition”) and to work by changing
techniques and these experiments are very our thinking (“cognition”) about the brand. The ads
had to be nicely presented so that we would swallow
exploratory. However, as the three the information pill. Maybe the scale of production
Commentaries by Simon Broadbent, values (and the implied expenditure) communicated

Autumn 2000
18 Tim Ambler, Andreas Ioannides and Steven Rose

quality – but it was still a cognitive process. ads triggered emotional (“affective”) responses.
Researchers (especially academics, and not just They doubt the relevance of neat academic step-
economists) tend to be cognitively biased by the nature by-step models.
of their disciplines and by the way data is gathered,
processed and reported. Consumers are asked what By directly capturing the brain’s responses to stimuli,
they think and attitudes have to be put into words, if neuroscience now gives us, for the first time, the
not rationalised, before they can be communicated to opportunity to use the models and technology of
the researcher. The data are then manipulated in a natural science to test the validity of these two
logical fashion, usually within a step-by-step apparently conflicting views on how advertising
hierarchical model (Vakratsas and Ambler 1999). works. In fact, there is no suggestion that cognition
Finally, the researchers report the results to a sceptical and affect are alternative or competitive. Indeed, they
audience. Most marketers, or so the joke goes, believe are known to be massively interactive. Nevertheless,
small variations in research findings to be sampling in this article, we are concerned with the differences
errors and large ones to be wrong. between them in terms of how the brain processes
advertising. The experiments reported here suggest
Many practitioners, however, have long believed that the advertising practitioners were right all along
that advertising effects were driven by how well the and that emotional involvement (affect) is an integral

Long-term Memory
It is hard to steer between opaque scientific caused by the growth of new nerve endings; or (c)
language, and inaccurate lay approximation, but the growth of completely new nerve cells, which
essentially we can think of human memory in the mainly takes place during maturation of the
following terms. Basically, there are two memory nervous system in the early years of life.
systems, that differ mainly in the time scales at
which they operate: short-term memory, which The dual key (chemical and electrical) building of
retains information about 5-6 hours, and long-term synapses may explain why we have had so little
memory, which stores information up to a lifetime. success with memory-enhancing drugs. The
The process of learning, or memory formation, importance of this process for us, though, is that
consists of transferring information from short- synapses are permanent parts of the body just like an
term to long-term memory. arm or a leg. They can be deformed or cut off but
they are just as much fixtures albeit greatly smaller.
This process happens at the level of individual brain They can be made to grow, presumably with
cells (neurons). The human brain consists of billions repetition and reinforcement, or they can wither a
of neurons, each of which is connected to up to a bit if unused. But they remain in place indefinitely.
thousand others. Within each individual neuron
complicated chemical and electrical processes take A brain area called the hippocampus seems
place. The collective activity of these neurons responsible for short term memory retention, and
somehow gives rise to our perceptions, memories, also for the transfer of information to long term
emotions, etc. The point where two neurons make memory, which is localised in parts of our neo-
contact is called a synapse which may be cortex. The hippocampus is the area of the brain
understood as a unit of memory. Each of our through which the pathways of LTP travel. There
individual memories consists of a complex network are two types of memories: associative and non-
of neurons and synapses, typically involving several associative. In both cases, the hippocampus has
areas of the brain. specific pathways for varieties of LTP and more
than one pathway must be involved.
The process of learning can be brought about by
at least three different mechanisms: (a) a change in Therefore the job of a new brand is to create new
the sensitivity of a neuron at an existing synapse synapses through experience and advertising,
by a process called long-term potentiation (LTP); whereas an old brand, no matter how old, simply
(b) the formation of completely new synapses, needs to refresh synapses already in place.

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 Brands on the Brain: Neuro-Images of Advertising 19

and immediate part of all response to advertising, as product quality by greater media expenditures (Davis,
it is to other stimuli, and an essential feature of Kay and Star 1991).
consumer decision-making.
Published advertising research has been dominated by
Brand choice, like any human decision, is driven by “persuasive hierarchy” or “hierarchy of effects”
what we have in our heads which, direct response models (Holbrook 1986, Meyers-Levy and Malaviya
advertising aside, is really long-term memory (see box). 1999, Vakratsas and Ambler 1999). In these,
The research reported here relates only to the advertising is mentally processed sequentially in a
immediate response to TV commercials. series of stages, with emotional engagement usually
following rational assessment: typically C ! A ! B
The idea that different brain areas have different (cognition ! affect ! behaviour). Each stage is a gate,
functions is far from new but this is the first time that eg an ad rejected by rational analysis will not receive
this particular technology has been applied to moving affective processing.
TV commercial images. In these early days, the
methodology is cumbersome and expensive. Only a Neuroscience has also been mainly concerned with
very few subjects can be recorded and analysed. rational processes:
However, the technology is improving rapidly.
“Neuroscientists have, in modern times, been
especially concerned with the neural basis of
Our preliminary experiment tested whether affective
cognitive processes such as perception and
TV commercials would be better remembered. β-
memory. They have for the most part ignored the
blockers (propranolol), which suppress emotion, and
brain’s role in emotion.” (LeDoux 1994, p. 32)
placebos were administered randomly to subjects who
were then exposed to the brand advertising. In the However, those neuroscientists engaged with emotion
main experiment, patterns of neural activity were may challenge LeDoux’s claim and the interest has
recorded by magnetoencephalography (MEG) whilst grown in both academic and popular media (eg
subjects watched the same advertising stimuli. MEG Greenfield 2000) since he wrote those words. Some
is a non-invasive technique which provides brain advertising theories, too, focus on the affective
images for later analysis. responses, familiarity and feelings that the ads evoke
(see, for example, Aaker et al 1986, Alwitt and Leavitt
This article is organised as follows. Previous research 1985, Peterson et al 1986). In this model, consumers
is summarised to provide context and background for form their preferences based on feelings, such as liking,
the experiments. We then describe the methodology, induced by the ad or familiarity triggered by mere
analysis and results. These experiments are small and exposure to the ad, rather than product/brand attribute
exploratory. Their main value is probably in helping information (Batra and Ray 1986, Janisewski and
to structure further research since, for reasons of Warlop 1993, Mitchell and Olson 1981, Shimp 1981,
sample size alone, they do not permit strong Srull 1983 and 1990, Stuart et al 1987, Zajonc 1980,
conclusions. The middle part of the article is semi- Zajonc and Markus 1982).
technical: readers interested only in the implications
for advertising may prefer to skip from the section on Differences between the rational and affective schools
previous research to the section on limitations and were put to the test by The ARF Copy Research
future research. Validity Project in which Haley and Baldinger (1991)
showed ad likability to be more correlated with sales
Previous Research than were persuasion and recall. Their conclusions
Most advertising research has assumed that have been disputed (Rossiter and Eagelson 1994).
consumers have an underlying economic rationality
(Vakratsas and Ambler 1999). Advertising was seen Brain imaging has previously appeared in the
as providing information and reasons to buy and/ marketing literature: eg Rothschild and Hyun
or prefer the brand. The lack of new information (1990) and Rothschild et al (1988) used electro-
evident in most mass media advertising of consumer encephalography (EEG) for memory and emotional
packaged goods was rationalised as information on effects respectively. However, EEG is limited to
brand quality, ie firms signal their belief in their surface or near-surface readings whereas the newer

Autumn 2000
20 Tim Ambler, Andreas Ioannides and Steven Rose

MEG technology probes deeply into the brain. EEG communicate emotions (Ekman and Friesen 1978).
is also limited by the high resistivity of the skull These and other non-verbal methodologies provide
which makes the identification of the generators exciting means to bypass the cognitive bias inherent
difficult. For MEG, the skull is transparent and in conventional copy testing. Hazlett and Hazlett
hence it is easier to identify the sources in the brain. (1999), for example, showed that facial expressions
Previously, Hansen (1981) suggested that right brain measured by EMG (electromyography) were more
processing dominates in low-involvement situations, strongly correlated with recall than was
and left brain in high involvement. His conclusions conventional copy testing. Furthermore EMG allows
for the frequency and complexity of messages may practitioners to identify the effects of a commercial
well be correct but neuroscience has moved a long way moment by moment.
from the simple left/right assumptions of that time.
The frontal lobe is an important region of the brain
One of the most interesting neuroscience associated with, for example, creativity and sociability.
applications concerns the way facial expressions In particular, Damasio (1994) suggested that one part

Figure 1
Brain locations relevant to this paper

Frontal lobes

Cingulate gyrus

Ventro-medial
frontal lobes

Amygdala

Hippocampus

Source: Kandel, Schwartz and Jessell 1991

What Do These Parts of the Brain Do?

The upper frontal lobes (“prefrontal association involved in the registration and enhanced memory
cortex”) deal with cognitive behaviour and action retention for emotionally arousing events (Cahill
planning. The lower parts (“limbic association and McGaugh 1998). However, a meta-analysis
cortex”) deal with emotion and memory as do the of recent functional neuro-imaging studies
cingulate gyrus and the region around the showed that the posterior (righthand side in
hippocampus. The amygdala and the hippocampus figure 1) part of the cingulate is most consistently
are involved in the initial registration and activated by emotionally salient stimuli (Maddock
processing of emotional experiences and also the 1999). Evidently the processing of emotional
pathways to and from long-term memory (see stimuli, and whether they are memorised or not,
earlier box). For both humans and other animals, depend on a distributed system with key cortical
the amygdala together with sites in or near the areas close to the anterior and posterior ends of
ventro-medial frontal lobes (VMFL) is thus the cingulate.

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 Brands on the Brain: Neuro-Images of Advertising 21

of the frontal lobe, the VMFL, was crucial for decision- week) memory for emotionally-arousing short stories
making. His suggestion was that decision-making was (Cahill et al 1994). Cahill et al (1995) reported a
more associated with feelings than thinking and is co- patient (“B.P.”), with normal cognitive functions but
located with the processing of secondary level damage to the amygdaloid complex, who did not have
emotions and in the context of past experience. the enhanced memory for the emotional part of the
Damasio’s original work was based on brain lesions, story that normal controls had. Memory for the non-
notably the unfortunate 19th century Phineas P. Gage emotional part of the story was normal. In a later
who had much of his frontal lobe, including the study, Cahill et al (1996) showed two videos, each
VMFL, destroyed after an accidental explosion with 12 film clips, to eight subjects. The more
propelled a steel bar through his head. Gage’s ability emotionally-arousing films were significantly
to reason was undiminished but three characteristics (p<0.05) better recalled, than the emotionally-
changed totally: he was unable to make decisions, or neutral videos, three weeks after viewing.
to have feelings, and he lost his social skills. By Furthermore, the increased recall for the emotionally
“feelings” Damasio means the experience of emotion arousing videos was correlated with increased
(p145). Since the symptoms of the absence of a activation of the right amygdala, as indicated by
component, ie the missing parts of Gage’s brain, are positron emission tomography (PET). McGaugh et
an unreliable guide to the role of that component, al (1996, p13,512 ) concluded:
Damasio’s confirmatory neuro-imaging with healthy
“The findings of our studies using human
subjects is important (Bechara et al 1999, Damasio
subjects are consistent with those of our other
1999, Tranel et al 1998).
studies using animal subjects in indicating that
memory storage is influenced by activation of
The possibility that three brain activities – the ability
β-adrenergic systems and the amygdala.”
to make decisions and to have feelings and social skills
– are physically juxtaposed in the brain could have Thus prior research suggests that it is likely that
immense importance for marketing. Practitioners and affective advertisements will be both better recognised
some academics have long recognised the significance and better recalled than purely cognitive ads.
of feelings and social relationships for brand choice.
For example, Ritson and Elliott (1999) have shown Two Experiments
that advertising plays a role within social contexts in Our preliminary experiment tested these conclusions
its own right and not just as a promoter of goods and with conventional methods before using
services. Kover et al (1995) showed that creative and pharmacological treatments (β-blockers) to see
effective advertising resonated with viewers’ self- whether reducing the impact of affect also reduced
images in a very positive way. the difference between recall and recognition of the
two types of advertising. The second experiment used
If better remembering (see the earlier box on long- MEG in an exploratory fashion with just three subjects
term memory) is also associated with affect, then to investigate whether there would be space- and time-
advertising which stimulates those parts of the brain distinguishable brain activation patterns between
may well be more effective, ie increase subsequent observing affective and cognitive advertising. We
choice of that brand. There is now evidence that expected that the differences would be more
affective material is better remembered than cognitive. pronounced in the areas around the anterior and
This enhanced recall occurs partly as a result of posterior end of the cingulate gyrus (see figure 1).
changes in body state as a consequence of the affective
experience, and notably release of the hormone In the preliminary experiment, recall and recognition
adrenalin and the selected neurotransmitter were significantly stronger for affective ads for controls
noradrenalin. and the placebo group. The recall differences were
diminished between the propranolol subjects on the
The brain effects of adrenalin can be inhibited by the one hand and the placebo and controls on the other
group of drugs known as β-blockers, conventionally as expected but the results for recognition were not
used as anti-depressants or stress relievers, which definitive. The suggestion by Singh et al (1988) that
reduce affective responses to stimuli (Greenblatt et al recognition was a more sensitive discriminator than
1993). β-blockers selectively impair long-term (one recall was not supported by these results.

Autumn 2000
22 Tim Ambler, Andreas Ioannides and Steven Rose

Methodology
Subjects viewed a video consisting of a 24-minute
module referred to as the background material, and
six minutes of advertisements separated into two
blocks of four TV ads. The background material
concerned the ecology of rain forests, and was
similar in style and level of stimulation to an
educational TV program. The ad blocks, at
approximately 8-11 and 19-22 minutes, resembled
regular commercial breaks. Four well-known (UK)
brands, all frequently purchased goods or services,
were selected on a convenience basis: a fast food
restaurant (FFR), a retail bank, a beer and an oil
company. Two ads were acquired for each brand.
To minimise any primacy/recency effects, two
versions of the video were made with the pairs © Low Tempature Laboratory, Helsinki University
of Technology
reversed.
Subjects, randomly assigned, were unaware Before and after the actual measurement, so called
of which treatment they had received “noise runs” are made first with no subject and
(propranolol or placebo) and of the purpose of then with the subject in place but with no stimuli
the experiment. An independent group of delivered. These noise runs provide the “baseline”
subjects (“controls”) had previously followed the for the “live” measurements. Even a simple
protocol without either drug or placebo. All were experiment, with the actual “live” part where the
instructed not to make written notes but to relax subject views a screen and/or manipulates a joystick
and watch the video as if they were watching for only a few minutes, can easily take the greater
television in their own homes. part of a day, when all preparation, noise
MEG measures the minute magnetic fields measurements, briefing and de-briefing are done.
around a subject’s head generated as a result of This project used two days of laboratory time for
the electrical activity going on inside the brain. The each subject.
fields are measured by an array of sensors, each Despite generous allocation of the MEG
coupled to its own supersensitive detector: a hardware time, preparation for the experiment and
superconducting quantum interference device complex subsequent analysis, only three native
(SQUID) which operates at the cryogenic English speakers (right-handed males, 44-50 years
temperature of liquid helium. To achieve this, old) could be fully imaged and analysed. Subjects
the sensor array, with its SQUIDs, is immersed were asked to view the video in as relaxed a manner
in liquid helium housed in a thermos flask as they could manage while being imaged. Since
(dewar). The sensors are arranged at the bottom the seating in the MEG machine is comfortable and
of the dewar which is shaped like a helmet which the background material surrounding the
the subject wears as s/he sits in a magnetically advertisements was neither demanding nor
shielded room (see picture). stimulating, the conditions for routine TV watching
Because any muscular activity, such as eye were reproduced as closely as possible.
movement and the regular activity of the heart, The MEG signals were recorded using the BTi
creates a relatively large magnetic signal, the whole head system (148 channels), together with
subject must be fitted with electrodes to monitor electro-oculogram (EOG) and electrocardiogram
these unwanted processes and allow later noise (ECG) channels to monitor eye blinks and
elimination. In addition, it is necessary to perform heartbeats. Two continuous recordings were made;
a digital mapping of the subject’s head to determine each included either the affective or cognitive block
its position and orientation with respect to the of four advertisements and two minutes of the
sensors and to fit them to anatomical images. ecology program before and after.

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 Brands on the Brain: Neuro-Images of Advertising 23

In the second experiment, the signals were analysed between the activations corresponding to the affective
using magnetic field tomography (MFT) (Ioannides and cognitive segments were identified in all three
1994, Ioannides et al 1990, Taylor et al 1999) to subjects. The loci of differential activations were at
compute the current density vector independently for the anterior and posterior ends of the cingulate
every other timeslice (1.96 ms) throughout the brain. gyrus, but with considerable variability between
From previous trials, six frames were identified in the subjects. In addition a general decrease in activation
video; three corresponded to points of high affective in superior brain areas was observed for all subjects
content and the other three to high cognitive content. while viewing the affective compared to the
For further technical discussion of the analysis see cognitive segments we had analysed. The activation
Ioannides et al (2000). in the areas associated with early visual processing
was identified in all segments and this consistency is
As would be expected, we found significant activations reassuring in taking the differences between the
in the primary and association visual areas as well as affective and cognitive images to be genuine and not
in areas known to be involved in object recognition. driven by confounding factors.
The locations of these activations were in agreement
with other neuro-imaging studies (eg Sergent et al Figure 2 shows the main result for the first subject
1992); the timing of activations (ie the interval between (S1) with the most consistent Day 1 activations across
stimulus onset and activation) was also consistent with the three affective and three cognitive segments
what is known from animal experiments. analysed. Each figurine shows the integral of the MFT
intensity over two seconds. At the axial slice used for
The responses to affective and cognitive blocks were the display, along the base of the brain, there are two
compared subject by subject. Significant differences activations at the threshold used: at the primary visual

Figure 2

Autumn 2000
24 Tim Ambler, Andreas Ioannides and Steven Rose

Figure 3

cortex and at the VFML. As a visual aid a polygon The comparison between brain activations showed
and an oval shape, proportional to activation size, are differences in the posterior parietal and prefrontal
displayed for the visual and frontal activations areas. In all three subjects, the cognitive ads produced
respectively. Note the similarity within the affective stronger activity in posterior parietal area and superior
segments (left column) and cognitive segments (right prefrontal cortex, as expected from an increase in
column) but also the clear differences between them. working memory and executive control demands. In
For the affective segments, the activations are strongest contrast, affective ads produced more variable
in the VMFL area. activations across subjects, but these were generally
restricted to modulation of activity in orbitofrontal
Figure 3 shows the summated result across the three and retrospenial cortex, amygdala and brainstem.
affective segments (top left) and across the three
cognitive segments (top right). The difference between Our findings provide further evidence for the
the two is shown at the bottom, where the positive association of activity in areas anterior and inferior
difference is highlighted by the white area (activity of the anterior cingulate and around the posterior
greater in the affective condition) and the dark area cingulate in the processing of affect-related stimuli.
for negative (cognitive activity higher than affective). Our results show how this activity can be followed in
A mid-sagittal slice is displayed, showing clearly the real time and that what appears as activation of
increased VFML activity for affective condition. different brain areas may be just a small change in the

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 Brands on the Brain: Neuro-Images of Advertising 25

activation of these areas across conditions. That is, choice and usage. Presumably, brand choice and
the areas which are more pronounced in the affect- usage experience then feed back to the way future
loaded segments are also activated in the cognitive ads are received.
segments, but just a little less. The decreased activity
in the most superior axial slices around the motor and Whether through higher memorability or simply
SMA regions are intriguing and they provide further liking, practitioners are looking to the balance
support for a wider role for this area than simply between affect and cognition in ad effectiveness. It
motoric duties (Carpenter et al 1999). seems likely that the ideal balance will be dictated
by context; a new brand may need to communicate
Limitations and Future Research news when an old brand may be seeking refreshment.
Since we were not testing a theory but merely showing As an early exploratory step, however, this research
that this type of research is feasible and produces set out to examine the different impact of affective
results consistent with prior research, we did not seek and cognitive advertisements in two ways. In the
to control the many potentially-confounding factors. preliminary experiment we used β-blockers to test
For example, the selection of the ads for the impact of affect on recall and recognition. This
experimentation in future research should bring proved, as expected, broadly positive. The second
together existing copy testing and non-verbal experiment used MEG to explore how brain
techniques to establish convergence of methodologies activations differ.
and find the most extreme examples of affective and
cognitive ads using the emotional dimensions noted The research was exploratory and small in scope. We
by Hazlett and Hazlett (1999). It would be interesting were looking at the front end of advertising processing,
to compare the facial measures using EMG with brain how the brain receives it, rather than the consequences,
images: that may help establish the optimal timeslices ie how decisions are affected. Nor did we consider
for this kind of research. how advertising is stored between reception and
decision-making.
The ads used as stimuli were regular commercials.
Whilst we used the preliminary experiment to separate Nevertheless these experiments were consistent with
them into cognitive and affective categories, all the earlier neurobiological studies on responses to affective
ads had elements of both. Purely cognitive and purely and cognitive stimuli. There were clear differences in
affective ads would be difficult to obtain even for the brain signals derived from affective and cognitive
experimental purposes, but by identifying the ads during viewing the video; the affective ads
emotional time-slices as noted above, more precise generated a greater focal activation in the
analysis may be possible. ventromedial frontal lobes (VMFL). Since this area
has been found to be associated with decision-making
Clearly three subjects are insufficient to draw any and social sensitivity, it may have great significance
generalisations and the sample in the preliminary for advertising researchers and practitioners.
experiment was also small.

Future research of this type might investigate what Tim Ambler is a Senior Fellow at London Business
brain images can tell us about ad reception: whether School, Andreas Ioannides is at the Laboratory for
it varies according to how familiar the ads are, prior Human Brain Dynamics at the Brain Science
brand experience, involvement with the category and Institute, Riken, Japan, and Steven Rose is a
the respondent characteristics (age, sex etc). Professor in the Department of Biology, Open
University, UK. This research was funded by
Conclusions four companies which asked to remain
This paper did not set out to prove new empirical anonymous. We are grateful to the laboratories
generalisations. We employed just three subjects to at Julich, Germany, and Riken, Japan, for the
open the door a little wider to the use of neuroscience machine time and computational analyses. We
in the understanding of how advertising works. Four particularly thank Tom Burne, Jürgen Dammers,
phases have to be considered: the original reception Lichan Liu, and Dionyssios Theofilou.
of the ad, storage and then how it impacts brand

Autumn 2000
26 Tim Ambler, Andreas Ioannides and Steven Rose

References Ioannides, Andreas A., Liu Lichan, Dionyssios

Note: for a full list of references, please go to the Business Theofilou, Jurgen Dammers, Tom Burne, Tim Ambler,
Strategy Review Website at www.london.edu/bsr. and Steven P.R. Rose (2000 forthcoming) Real time
Ambler, Tim and Tom Burne (1999) The Impact of processing of affective and cognitive stimuli in the
Affect on Memory of Advertising Journal of human brain extracted from MEG signals, Brain
Advertising Research 39, 25—34 Topography (in press)
Bechara A, Hannah Damasio, Antonio R. Damasio, Kandel, Eric R., James H. Schwartz and Thomas M.
G.P. Lee (1999) Different contributions of the human Jessell (eds.) (1991) Principles of Neural Science,
amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex to Norwalk, CT: Appleton and Lange, Figures 21-14 and
decision-making Journal of Neuroscience, 19 (13), 47-3A, 308 and 738.
5473-5481. LeDoux, Joseph E. (1994) The Emotional Brain, New
Cahill, Larry and James L. McGaugh (1998) York: Simon and Schuster.
Mechanisms of emotional arousal and lasting Rose, Steven P.R. (1993) The Making of Memory,
declarative memory, TINS 21, 294-299 London: Bantam Books.
Damasio, Antonio R. (1994) Descartes’ Error: Vakratsas, Demetrios and Tim Ambler (1999) “How
Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain, London: Advertising Works: What Do We Really Know?”
Papermac (Macmillan). Journal of Marketing 63, January, 26-43.

Commentary
Challenge to Advertising Research Methods
Simon Broadbent

Professionals find nothing new in contrasting thinking always processes input, but at a deep level.” Tim
and emotion. What is novel to us is the neurological Ambler once summed it up like this: “Rationalists have
discovery of physical evidence for these two reactions to been trying to explain emotion as some cunning covert
the world around us, and clues about their relationship. cognition, when all along it is simply emotion.”

So “Brands on the Brain” is not only the description Further, “emotional reaction not only sets the context
of a second experiment on the reaction of laboratory for rational processing, but it acts as a gateway to
subjects to advertising. It is part of a reassessment, by attentioning”, “unless a perception is emotionally
a few pioneers, of many facets of advertising research. encoded it will not be rationally useful” (Du Plessis).
“Advertisements with high affective components will
Some previously accepted ideas are now crumbling; have better recall following a single presentation”,
others are given a sounder basis. The landscape is because “affect (feeling, emotion) rather than cognition
changing before our eyes, with possible effects over (perception, absorbing information, thinking) may be
the next ten years it is hard to exaggerate. I find this the key” (Ambler and Burne). “Brand decisions tend
revolution the most exciting I have lived through in to be made intuitively rather than rationally, and most
this field. advertising is processed at very low attention levels
using low involvement process” (Heath).
So far, psychology has queened it over qualitative
advertising research; rational thought has been the As well as these distinctions, the importance of another
order of the day. The two disciplines agree on the is more obvious: “One of the biggest problems… is
importance of non-conscious processing, but then that brand meanings (images) are almost exclusively
differ. Du Plessis puts it like this: “Neurology postulates described in words – while they are probably present
that you first react emotionally and this might be your in our memories on a primarily visual, auditive and
total reaction. Psychology says that the subconscious symbolic basis” (Franzen and Bouwman).

Business Strategy Review