Emotional claptrap
BMJ 2007; 334 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39210.433831.59 (Published 10 May 2007) Cite this as: BMJ 2007;334:1008- Des Spence, general practitioner, Glasgow
- destwo{at}yahoo.co.uk
Tears streamed down my face as I clutched my new born baby daughter—I was a father.” Nauseating but powerful, isn't it, even if it isn't true? Using an emotional hook is the writer's Trojan horse. Emotions breach the highest and most fortified walls of cynicism that surround individuals. This emotional manipulation is the essence of the science of marketing, and as doctors we are under permanent siege.
Medical marketing opens the Pandora's box of the human emotions—fear, love, lust, greed, humour, superiority, beauty, anger, violence, pity, faith, and …
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