In advertising (as in propaganda) one uses communications stimuli to change the behavior of the audience. As science marches forward, as one discovers the deeper pathways of the mind, and perhaps stumbles upon back doors in the brain where a stimulus trick can increase the persuasive power of messages, what ethics supervene? If you found that there is a magic word you could add to your ads which would increase their sales effect, would you use it? What if it worked because it exploited your target's neuroses?
Identifying the Ethical Limits of Persuasion in Advertising
