Welcome to Nerd Alert, a series of special episodes bridging the gap between marketing academia and practitioners. We’re breaking down highly involved, complex research into plain language and takeaways any marketer can use.

In this episode, Elena and Rob explore how our brains respond to advertisements at a neural level. They discuss the relationship between emotional arousal and ad effectiveness, revealing insights that challenge conventional wisdom about likability and memorability in advertising.

Topics covered:   

• [01:00] "Measuring Neural Arousal for Advertisements and its Relationship with Advertising Success"
• [02:00] How good are humans at predicting brain reactions?
• [04:00] EEG measurements and ad ratings methodology
• [05:10] High arousal ads are memorable but not always liked
• [07:00] Balancing attention-grabbing with positive perception
• [08:40] The disconnect between likability and persuasiveness
• [10:00] The power of adrenaline in creating memorable experiences 

 





To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast 
 

Resources: 
Eijlers, E., Boksem, M. A. S., & Smidts, A. (2020). Measuring neural arousal for advertisements and its relationship with advertising success. *Frontiers in Neuroscience*, 14, 736. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.00736  
 

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