Alchemy by Rory Sutherland (Hardback)

£20.00
Out of stock
Product Ref. (e.g. ISBN, SKU)
9780753556504
Published:
09 May 2019
Format:
Hardback
Number of pages:
384 pages
Dimensions:
222x162x27mm
Weight:
0.645kgs
Author:
Why does it sometimes pay to make a product more difficult to use? Why do people think orange juice is healthy? Why should you put tables outside your café, even when it's raining? Why is stripy toothpaste made stripy? Leading ad-man, renowned cultural commentator and self-confessed greedy anthropologist Rory Sutherland offers stories and insights from an extraordinary career in advertising and further examples of consumer oddities to present an array of fascinating ideas that will improve the way we look at our lives, our work and the world around us.

'A breakthrough book. Wonderfully applicable to everything in life, and funny as hell.' Nassim Nicholas Taleb

To be brilliant, you have to be irrational

Why is Red Bull so popular - even though everyone hates the taste? Why do countdown boards on platforms take away the pain of train delays? And why do we prefer stripy toothpaste?

We think we are rational creatures. Economics and business rely on the assumption that we make logical decisions based on evidence.

But we aren't, and we don't.

In many crucial areas of our lives, reason plays a vanishingly small part. Instead we are driven by unconscious desires, which is why placebos are so powerful. We are drawn to the beautiful, the extravagant and the absurd - from lavish wedding invitations to tiny bottles of the latest fragrance. So if you want to influence people's choices you have to bypass reason. The best ideas don't make rational sense: they make you feel more than they make you think.

Rory Sutherland is the Ogilvy advertising legend whose TED Talks have been viewed nearly 7 million times. In his first book he blends cutting-edge behavioural science, jaw-dropping stories and a touch of branding magic, on his mission to turn us all into idea alchemists. The big problems we face every day, whether as an individual or in society, could very well be solved by letting go of logic and embracing the irrational.

About the Author: Rory Sutherland is the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK and the founder of the behavioural science practice. He writes the Spectator's 'Wiki Man' column, presents series for BBC Radio 4, serves on the advisory board of The Evolution Institute, and is former President of the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising). The IDM (Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing) awarded Sutherland an Honorary Life Fellowship. His TED talks have over 6.5 million views. He authored a collection of blog posts, interviews, tweets and reference materials, The Wiki-Man, in 2011, and his first book Alchemy was published in 2019.

More Information
Number of pages 384

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