Marketing techniques now a days have definitely evolved from the old school ways, the typical focus group within an age range, to test new products and such. Now, marketing is taking a whole new approach, which is to investigate how your brain waves respond to the stimuli of TV advertising. The way this is done is by using " EEGs, M.R.I.’s, eye-tracking — or in older biometric methods that track skin, muscle or facial responses to products or ads." (Making Ads That Whisper to the Brain). Now the next question is, can they plant an idea in your head? (Just like the movie 'Inception'), creating consumer zombies that are brainwashed into buying things in many instances they don't need..... People in general already buy what they can't afford and/or don't need, they definitely don't additional help in this area.
On the other hand, this concept of "planting an idea in your head" might be somewhat of a stretch, but it doesn't mean they can actually do it, and that all they do is "distinguish whether a person’s emotional response is positive or negative" says Dr. Robert T. Knight, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at Berkeley as well as the chief science adviser at NeuroFocus.
There is still some sense of discomfort, I would say, having your cognitive reactions measured. It seems like marketing research agencies have come to extensive lengths to do their market research, to the point were they need to measure consumer wavelengths to figure out how to best position their client's products. Possibly the concept of brainwashing might be taking it a bit too far, and maybe it's not even possible.... or is it?
