The Advertised Mind: Groundbreaking Insights into How Our Brains Respond to Advertising [Hardcover]

Erik Du Plessis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2005

* Draws on the very latest research into the workings of the human brain

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Of all the books I have reviewed for this column over the past two years, The Advertised Mind is certainly one of the most interesting... [Erik du Plessis] has carried out some intelligent research, drawn some valuable conclusions, and explained complex subject-matter without resorting to spin, posturing or unnecessary jargon. Highly recommended.

About the Author

Erik Du Plessis is President of the Johannesburg-based research agency, Impact Information, famous for its Adtrack system of monitoring the memorability of television advertising, which has been adopted by UK, Swedish, Korean and East African markets. Impact is now part of the Millward Brown Group, one of the world's top 10 market research companies with 65 offices in 39 countries.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Kogan Page Business Books (May 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749443669
• ISBN-13: 978-0749443665
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,240,122 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cognitive science meets Madison Avenue, May 24, 2007

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Advertised Mind: Groundbreaking Insights into How Our Brains Respond to Advertising (Hardcover)

This treatise is designed for patient, methodical readers with a quest for insight. Erik Du Plessis is committed to explaining how advertisements work on consumers' consciousness, so he reviews existing research on advertising, and includes cognitive science's understanding of how the brain works on a chemical and cellular level. His research is accessible, since he often recaps and provides analogies that bring it to life, but some of the material remains dense and even obfuscates key points. Du Plessis' results are accurate but may seem self-defining  such as the idea that ads you like are ads you remember  and they can be difficult to apply. This is an impressive attempt to bring social science and neurological theory to bear on advertising. Given the intangible nature of creativity, a strong intuitive understanding of what makes advertisements likeable might help ad designers get more from this dissection. Of course, the industry also wants to know how it can reach a tech-oriented audience that records its favorite programs on TIVO and fast-forwards through the ads anyway. We find that this innovative book may be most useful for professionals in areas that involve a quantifiable, systematic approach, such as methods for determining how many ads to buy and how to allocate them across television outlets and other media.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview of what makes advertising work, July 8, 2005

By 

A. Schools (Crystal Coast NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Advertised Mind: Groundbreaking Insights into How Our Brains Respond to Advertising (Hardcover)

I am an accountant by trade who has recently taken on a volunteer advertising position. I found the book very informative in that it offered good common sensne to advertising. The conclusions were supported by research from all over the world. I will be reading it again.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great primer on the advertising research field, August 16, 2010

By 

william f stephenson - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Advertised Mind: Groundbreaking Insights Into How Our Brains Respond to Advertising (Paperback)

As a newcomer to the advertising research field, The Advertised Mind is a very good and thorough read. I appreciated the introduction to various methods of advertising research and the relatively unbiased approach to analyzing the pro's and con's. The introduction to neuroscience was by far the best part of the book. I agree with the author that this is an exciting and promising new method to bring science to advertising research. Definitely a good read.