As regular readers will be aware, nothing floats the auld yin’s boat quite like a bit of pointless research. The latest fine example comes from the Rotterdam School of Management which has “proven for the first time that some forms of advertising provoke a response in consumers that they are powerless to control”.
Professors Mandy Hütter and Steven Sweldens [Have you just made those names up? – Ed] have developed a new methodology showing that consumers are “unable to form their own, objective opinion on a brand or product when they view an advert containing positive stimuli such as beautiful scenery, happy people and well-liked celebrities”.
So there we have it, the recipe for guaranteed success: stick whichever one of Ant and Dec hasn’t just been done for drink driving on the shores of Loch Lomond on a sunny day while holding your product and you’ve got it made. Shoppers will be simply unable to resist, and the Rotterdam School of Management are prepared to stake their reputation on it.
