Advertising and the Mind of the Consumer: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why (The Allen & Unwin Business and Management) [Paperback]

Max Sutherland (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Allen & Unwin Business and Management | Publication Date: April 1, 1994

A look at how popular ad campaigns succeed or fail in manipulating the consumer.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...makes for enjoyable as well as enlightening reading...can serve as an introduction to advertising for general readers. -- Choice Magazine

A rich source of information and expert comment...the scope and power of advertising is rescued from the exaggerated claims... -- Journal of Brand Management --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Max Sutherland is a marketing psychologist and the cofounder of a company that has worked with such leading global advertisers including Gillette, Kodak, McDonalds, Miller, Nestle, and Pfizer.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin (April 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1863733582
• ISBN-13: 978-1863733588
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #842,305 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Written and Full of insights, December 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Advertising and the Mind of the Consumer: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why (Paperback)

The book dissects the advertising process and analyzes the different elements that make up the ad.

Backed by years of tracking TV commercials down under, Max Sutherland has first-hand knowledge of what qualities make an ad work and what others make no or a negative difference in the ad's effectiveness.

The book commences with an introduction to advertsing's facts of life and a clarification of what is substantial and what is not in the public's perception of the industry.

It ends with a couple of interesting chapters that introduce the reader to the basic concepts of ad-effectiveness research. All in all, a good and solid book.

It does, however, use brand examples throughout that are known only to Australian readers and primarily discusses broadcast advertising.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very stimulating, provocative, and interesting book, August 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Advertising and the Mind of the Consumer: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why (The Allen & Unwin Business and Management) (Paperback)

This book is as fun to read as it is informative. The author makes his points with many memorable analogies and provocative perspectives. For instance, he observes that "We as consumers generally believe (advertising) does not really work on us personally. Despite this, advertisers keep on advertising. Something must be working." He makes the analogy between how advertising works and how we perceive our kids growing up. "We don't notice their physical growth each day, but from time to time we become aware that they have grown. Evaluating a single exposure to advertising is like asking how much your kid has grown in the last 24 hours." The author continually points out how these imperceptibly small changes add up to significant ones over time. Another analogy I really like is that "advertising is like a feather that just tips the balance when other things are about equal." And in most markets, brands are competing in categories where the consumer sees the products as being about equal. It is in these situations that advertising becomes so important. The book is also full of research findings and results, but without being "textbook like" about it. There is a gold mine of practical and memorable advertising findings and advice within these covers. The book is divided into an A part explaining "Why advertising has remained a mystery for so long." This is the part with all the insights and perspectives on the role of advertising in branding. The B part of the book addresses "What works, what doesn't and why." This section of the book contains insights from the author's years of experience in running continuous advertising tracking studies around the world. In summary this is a fun book to read and is full of information that could be of use to any markcom or campaign manager. Shelby McIntyre Marketing Professor Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA 95053

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book should to be in the top 20 marketing books, October 27, 1999

By 

Jorge Marroquín-Rivera (Guatemala city, Central A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Advertising and the Mind of the Consumer: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why (The Allen & Unwin Business and Management) (Paperback)

The subject of the book is advertising, the expertise of the author is marketing research and its background is psychology. However, the text is highly suitable for marketing professionals. Why ? The reason is that it gives practical tools for marketing decisions concerning advertising, tools that have long time beeing denied by advertising agencies. As many marketing professionals may know, ad agencies have built several "recipes" or "éclairs d'imagination" never giving their foundations. Instead, Max Sutherland gives clear guidelines, combining them with the correspondant motivational background and/or justifying them by facts. Additionally, the book is very well written to allow the reader to take the core conclusion of each chapter.