In a unique take, Paul Feldwick turned his strategic planning sensibilities to the subject of how advertising works. Capturing a hundred years of ideas on the art versus science of advertising, the debate will surely run for at least another century. Those of emotion suggest that its role in consumer behaviour is paramount. Emotions account for brand preference, they argue, and trot out fMRI studies and likeability measures to prove the point. Then we saw over-emotional enthusiasts such as Kevin Roberts with his simple slogan of “love marks” ranged against the Australian academic Byron Sharp who believes that love is missing the point. We use our mammalian brain to decide, and it rewards simplicity and ease of remembering. It's an emotional decision but based on the simplest front-of-mind cues, nothing else. The fact that there are extremes in a debate is best adduced by the acerbic rhetoric as they slog about each other. Things start to become more interesting when we add in the very real dynamic of getting advertising approved. For many clients, approving an emotive piece of creativity can be a frightening proposition. It is difficult to judge. It requires an emotional response in return. Are you prepared to lay bare your soul in discussing it;