Our relationship with ads: it's complicated A must-read for anyone intrigued by the role and influence of the ad world, Seducing the Subconscious explores the complexities of our relationship to advertising. Robert Heath uses approaches from experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience to outline his theory of the subconscious influence of advertising in its audience’s lives. In addition to looking at ads’ influence on consumers, Heath also addresses how advertising is evolving, noting especially the ethical implications of its development. Supported by current research, Seducing the Subconscious shows us just how strange and complicated our relationship is with the ads we see every day.
Table of Contents:
Foreword ix Introduction 1
Part 1 Taking Advertising Apart
1 The Persuasion Model 15
2 Alternative Ideas 24
3 WhyWe Don’t Pay Attention to Advertising 39
Part 1 Summary 48
Part 2 The Psychology of Communication
4 Learning and Attention 53
5 The Role of Memory 63
6 HowWe Process Communication 74
7 Problems with Getting Attention 85
Part 2 Summary 95
Part 3 Emotion and Consciousness
8 Emotional Processing 101
9 Our Adaptive Subconscious 111
10 Emotion and Attention 123
Part 3 Summary 133
Part 4 Decisions and Relationships
11 Decision-Making 137
12 The Power of Metacommunication 149
13 The Subconscious Seduction Model 160
Part 4 Summary 174
Part 5 Taking A Fresh Look at Advertising
14 Under the Radar 179
15 The Hidden Power of New Media 189
16 Legal, Decent, Honest, and Truthful? 198
17 How to Spot Subconscious Seduction 207
Conclusion 219
References 229
Index 239
About the Author :
Dr. Robert Heath has a worldwide reputation as an expert in the role of emotion and attention in the field of brand communication. In 2001 he developed the Low Attention Processing Model of advertising, after which he published the best-selling monograph The Hidden Power of Advertising. His published research has garnered him major prizes, including the dual award of the MRS David Winton and ISBA Prizes. Dr. Heath is a Senior Lecturer in Advertising at University of Bath School of Management and a Board Member of the Wharton Global Future of Advertising Project.
Review :
“Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division and graduate students of advertising and psychology, faculty, and practitioners.” (Choice, 1 October 2012)
“Heath’s book is far more persuasive than any advertisement, no matter how top-loaded the latter may be with accurate information. His thesis depends on a lengthy journey through cognitive science and evolutionary psychology, and a firm grasp on how – so far as we know – the human mind actually does work (rather than how we would like it to work). Heath demonstrates quite clearly – at least to my satisfaction – that it is precisely when we pay no conscious attention to advertising that advertisers get to work on our subconscious with complete effectiveness.” WILL SELF, Prospect, June 2012
"(Heath) avoids academic obscurantism and fills the book with clever dissections of well-known ads... The case studies add up to an intriguing, down-to-earth introduction to the mysteries of the subconscious..."
Financial Times, March 2012
"Dr Robert Heath, who teaches at the University of Bath, has popularised the theory of ‘low attention processing’, which argues that ads make a stronger emotional and behavioural impact when we are paying less conscious attention to them. In his new book, Seducing the Subconscious, he further develops this thinking, providing a detailed and scholarly explanation of the psychological processes involved, and illustrating these with advertising examples, many based on his own long experience in ad agencies."
Paul Feldwick, Credos, March 2012
