Salience and Persuasion

The Perils of Eating Junk Food –

One method commonly used in the art of persuasion is salience to overcome the cognitive miser effect; using shocking imagery and information to ‘cut through the noise’ and ultimately promote the underlying message to the audience. As the human brain is processes information subjectively it is important to stimulate the audiences’ attention to the message being given. Salience is important here, as it tends to increase the amount of processing effort given to the information given.

For the purpose of this video, the switch from the positive associations of junk food to salient imagery cause the viewer to switch from mode 1 to mode 2 thinking, therefore, making them pay attention to the important underlying message; the real perils of eating junk food.