Joel Raphaelson and his wife Marikay worked as copywriters for David Ogilvy in the 1960s. We recently ate dinner at Gibson’s Steakhouse at the Doubletree Hotel near O’Hare Airport in Chicago,* and talked about Joel’s 50-year-old theory concerning brand preference. The idea, most simply expressed, is this: ‘People do not choose Brand A over Brand B because they think Brand A is better, but because they are more certain that it is good.’* This insight is vitally important, but equally important is the realisation that we do not do it consciously. When making a decision, we assume that we must be
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