Science behind the brain’s response to advertising
Wasn’t that a great bank advert you saw on TV last night? At least, you thought so. Those watching it with you, thought it rubbish.
Have you ever wondered why you are attracted to some ads and not others: what activates the “like” button in your brain and what switches it off?
A neuroscience study by Dutch academics may provide some of the answers. Using a system called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) — which measures brain activity through blood-flow changes — they have identified some of the triggers that determine whether you like an ad and, by extension, the product it is promoting.
The academics from the Rotterdam School of Management and Erasmus School of Economics say that, more than 60 years after the introduction of TV advertising, there is still no definitive answer to what constitutes a successful ad.
Most previous research has relied on conscious responses by consumers, in which they record their own reactions and emotions. The problem, say the Dutch researchers, is that most people are “limited in reflecting on their internal states”. They may not accurately express their feelings. They don’t take account of in-built bias or selfjustification. This self-reflection may skew results because subjects overthink responses.
“Fluent processing of an experiential attribute is likely to occur when a consumer spontaneously receives an impression of this stimulus and responds without elaborating,” says the study, entitled “Neural responses to functional and experiential ad appeals: Explaining ad effectiveness”.
fMRI, it says, takes many of these elements out of the equation. The 25 subjects were placed separately inside MRI scanners — similar to those used in hospitals — where they were shown 11 TV adverts for a popular muscle gel. They viewed (and listened to) each ad, in random order, four times while brain activity was recorded. The ads all contained a similar voice-over text but with different executions and product emphases. Some, for example, appealed to emotions, others to mental stimulation, imagination and sensory elements, including colours, music and even smell.
Simultaneous research, in which 1,239 participants viewed the ads online, was carried out for comparison.
We won’t go into the science of the research. The study is full of references to “parametric modulators”, “serial orthogonalisation” and “nuisance regressors”.
But analysis of the fMRI participants’ brain activity showed that the most positive response was to ads that showed not only the product’s functional benefits but also appealed to imagination and mental stimulation. Ads that showed originality and innovation were most likely to make respondents follow up on the product.
Functional benefits were likely to stimulate activity in the cerebral cortex, which processes sensory information. Imagination and mental stimulation trigger parts of the motor cortex, which is responsible for planning and executing physical movement.
The researchers say the purpose of the study was to “provide insights into implicit mental processes in response to advertisements that are difficult to access using other approaches”. Initial results suggest previous research may have underestimated the level of cognitive power required to process advertising messages.
Though not in all cases. “It could be that passively viewing TV ads does not necessarily involve reasoning processes per se,” says the study. In other words, some of us are braindead in front of the gogglebox and therefore immune to any kind of mental stimulation.
The academics say their research — which they describe as “a first attempt to explore neural responses to different ad appeals” — is the start of a process. Responses to ads for a muscle gel are one thing. More exciting products could stimulate different reactions.
“Future research should investigate whether similar or different brain regions are engaged for those functional or experiential executional elements that are relevant in ads for a different product,” they say.
If it succeeds, one of the great mysteries of marketing could finally be solved. John Wanamaker, a political figure and businessman considered a marketing pioneer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, once said: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don't know which half.”
Modern marketers share his frustration. With the right insights, maybe they can identify all the waste.