Advertising trespass on our private space affecting our lives when we do not expect them to do it. All of us are victims of advertising to some extent, which can be seen in our behavior. Advertisers do their best to make us like promoted products and purchase them instead of a range of similar analogs. The destructive idea of purchasing any specific item creeps to our heads as we pass by attractive billboards, see commercials in public places, or receive a newsletter to our e-mail. At first sight, we do not pay attention to the promoted products. Most of us are conscious consumers who spend money reasonably weighing a necessity of every particular purchase, so why should we be under the advertiser’s thumb? Although, as time passes by, we recollect the information about products which belong to our sphere of interest. Whether they are revolutionary winter tires or an innovative anti-dandruff shampoo, the importance of purchasing this precise item does not abandon our thoughts.
Cognitive scientists draw consumers’ attention on such practice as affective conditioning, which is widely used by advertisers. This tool combines a product image or a brand name with the images that evoke pleasure in consumers. Affective conditioning associates several notions in our heads and makes us perceive the promoted item positively. Even if we know that the product in question has more effective analogs, our brain likes the one which evoked positive feelings.