Buyology

Anti-smoking campaigns unwittingly encourage people to smoke. Product placement in films rarely works. Many multi-million pound advertising campaigns are a complete waste of time. Subliminal advertising may have been banned but it's all around us. Our brains respond to brands in almost exactly the same way as they respond to religion.
These are just a few of the findings of Martin Lindstrom's groundbreaking
study of what really makes us, the consumers, tick. Convinced that there is a gulf
between what we believe influences us and what actually does, he set up a
highly ambitious research project that employed the very latest in
brain-scanning technology and called on the services of some 2000 volunteers.
Buyology shares the fruits of this research, revealing for the first time
what actually goes on inside our heads when we see an advertisement, hear a
marketing slogan, taste two rival brands of drink, or watch a programme
sponsored by a major company. The conclusions are both startling and
groundbreaking, showing the extent to which we deceive ourselves when we
think we are making rational choices, and revealing factors as varied as
childhood memories, religious belief, even our sense of smell, that come
together to influence our decisions and shape our tastes.