The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-03-08

|"Theory OF Advertising" with all its
practical usefulness to the business
Imam and the student, is not merely an
Instructive work. In many places It
lis vastly entertaining and even hum
| orous, and the glimpses it gives Of the
science Of psychology--one OF the
most interesting of al modern lines of
study yet possibly the least familiar
one to the majority Of readers make
| it both entertaining and useful to the
general consumer OF literature. Each
point DR.. Scott illustrates with what
he considers good and bad advertise
ments, explaining the merits or de-
fects Of each, and il is curious to see
how the critical scientist reduces to
absolute laws the vague impressions
that every reader has had, though
very likely he does not realize that he
has had them until they are explain
ed to him in this way.
There is no question of the import
ance OF advertising in these days
when competition is so keen and when
the newspapers and magazines have
become the real market places Of the
country DR., Scott describes the pur-
pose OF advertising as being to attract
attention to goods in such a way that
he who reads will desire to possess
them, and, the first requisite of good
advertising is, therefore, that it shall
attract and fix the readers mind.
That this is not so easy to do as one
might think is evident when you con-
slider how narrow our attention is.
Psychologists have determined by a
great variety OF exact tests to more
than four visual objects at once; about
four letters, four figures, four easy
words, or what not, are as much as
the mind will take together.
The power with which one thing
attracts the eye depends largely on
the absence of counter attractions,
DR.. Scott points out. Whether the
counter attraction are in other adver-
tisements or are all within the indivi-
dual advertisers own space, each will
do something to distract attention
from the rest unless it is carefully
placed-the lesson from which is that
too much display used indiscriminate-
ly is almost worse than none at all.
Beyond that, the power OF an object
to attract attention depends upon the
intensity of the sensation it arouses;
ON the contract ii forms to objects
presented with it; on the ease with
which we are able to comprehend it;
and on the frequency with which il is
put before us.
In chapter on the association OF
ideas DR.. Scott discusses how the ad-
vertiser is affected by the three laws
Of habit based on repetition, of re-
cency, and Of vividness or intensity.
We think first Of what we are accus-
toned to do, we notice first what we
are accustomed to see or hear. Next
we observe most quickly what is
made prominent in our mind by our
having previously observed it only a
short time before. After that our
thoughts will be directed among a.
thousand objects to the one with
which thew have been most vlvidly
associated in the past. The mention
of cameras, for instance, suggests the
name OF but one make to great
many people, because for years the
name Of that make has confronted
them in nearly every publication they
have looked at and has been heard
almost every time cameras have been
talked about, until it has become pra-
tically synonymous with camera" in
their minds. II you want to buy a
package OF breakfast food you think
first Of getting the last thing you saw