Seducing the Subconscious

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.

• Foreword ix Introduction 1Part 1 Taking Advertising Apart1 The Persuasion Model 152 Alternative Ideas 243 WhyWe Don’t Pay Attention to Advertising 39Part 1 Summary 48Part 2 The Psychology of Communication4 Learning and Attention 535 The Role of Memory 636 HowWe Process Communication 747 Problems with Getting Attention 85Part 2 Summary 95Part 3 Emotion and Consciousness8 Emotional Processing 1019 Our Adaptive Subconscious 11110 Emotion and Attention 123Part 3 Summary 133Part 4 Decisions and Relationships11 Decision-Making 13712 The Power of Metacommunication 14913 The Subconscious Seduction Model 160Part 4 Summary 174Part 5 Taking A Fresh Look at Advertising14 Under the Radar 17915 The Hidden Power of New Media 18916 Legal, Decent, Honest, and Truthful? 19817 How to Spot Subconscious Seduction 207Conclusion 219References 229Index 239

“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