為什麼能量飲料Red Bull味道人人嫌，卻又暢銷全球人人喝？而又為什麼，人們會偏好買擠出來有不同顏色的牙膏？

　　簡而言之，我們都需要誠實地舉手承認，消費者買東西經常是沒什麼理性依據，可能是依物品外在條件（Red Bull那藍藍的包裝），可能是客觀條件（味道、價格、品質），又或是一些情感反射，反正沒有一定的道理！加上現在，消費者可接觸的資訊又這麼複雜、難以預測，針對行銷廣告工作者來說，已經不太可能擬出一套只要依循就可以成功達標的銷售公式。

　　但依靠Rory的神奇的黑魔法──看似唬人或著華而不實的廣告噱頭、只是稍作調整的產品設計──就可能瞬間讓東西由黑翻紅！這是如何做到的？！

　　奧美傳奇人物Rory，從實習生一路爬上集團董事的童話人生履歷，其實來自他深耕三十年，致力於研究人類行為模式。在融會貫通相關科學研究，最終集結其學術見解與實際工作案例之後（如美國運通及微軟行銷企劃），把畢生的廣告行銷所學，寫成這本劃時代巨著—Alchemy，解開消費者看來毫不理性的消費行為，背後隱藏的秘密。

　　Sutherland的洞察力讓他在為產品規劃行銷策略時，甚至會和諾貝爾獎得主丹尼爾‧康納曼Daniel Kahneman及理查‧賽勒Richard Thaler等交流想法，而他無止盡的好奇心成功帶領他發現人類做一項決定背後的秘密何在，這些秘密就藏在意想不到的地方：

　　為什麼我們可以從蜜蜂身上學到永續經營？
　　為什麼我們可以從廉價航空中學會為醫療保健行銷？
　　為什麼寧可只是好像對了，也不要完全是錯的？
　　為什麼我們可以從足球賽罰點球學到風險規避？

　　結合最新的科學研究，行銷人生涯中的奇聞趣事以及品牌行銷的小策略，讓我們每個人都能成為魔法師！如同《快思慢想》、《推力》、《誰說人是理性的》讓讀者一窺行為經濟學之謎，《Alchemy》不僅改變我們如何代看行銷的神奇，也以讓人欲罷不能的有趣案例與敘事，重新發現人性。（文/博客來編譯）

　　In his first book he blends cutting-edge behavioural science, jaw-dropping stories and a touch of branding magic, on his mission to turn us all into idea alchemists. He will change the way you think – not just about the magic of marketing, but how our choices are influenced every day by the smallest nudges, and how the big problems we face every day, whether as an individual or in society, could very well be solved by letting go of logic and embracing the irrational.

　　‘A breakthrough book. Wonderfully applicable to everything in life, and funny as hell.’ Nassim Nicholas Taleb

　　To be brilliant, you have to be irrational

　　Why is Red Bull so popular – even though everyone hates the taste? Why do countdown boards on platforms take away the pain of train delays? And why do we prefer stripy toothpaste?

　　We think we are rational creatures. Economics and business rely on the assumption that we make logical decisions based on evidence.

　　But we aren’t, and we don’t.

　　In many crucial areas of our lives, reason plays a vanishingly small part. Instead we are driven by unconscious desires, which is why placebos are so powerful. We are drawn to the beautiful, the extravagant and the absurd – from lavish wedding invitations to tiny bottles of the latest fragrance. So if you want to influence people’s choices you have to bypass reason. The best ideas don’t make rational sense: they make you feel more than they make you think.

　　Rory Sutherland is the Ogilvy advertising legend whose TED Talks have been viewed nearly 7 million times. In his first book he blends cutting-edge behavioural science, jaw-dropping stories and a touch of branding magic, on his mission to turn us all into idea alchemists. He will change the way you think – not just about the magic of marketing, but how our choices are influenced every day by the smallest nudges, and how the big problems we face every day, whether as an individual or in society, could very well be solved by letting go of logic and embracing the irrational.

　　Review

　　"This is a breakthrough book: Mother Reality makes sense in her own way. She yields her secrets to practitioners, almost never to academics - something psychologists, economists and non-skin in the game people, no matter what they say, are functionally unable to grasp. And the book is funny as hell: I smiled and laughed at every paragraph. Furthermore, this is the first such treatise written by someone who had true contact with reality via something called a P/L. And this is wonderfully applicable to about everything in life, from how to announce airplane delays to how to handle unsold opera tickets. Buy two copies of this book in case one is stolen." (Nassim Nicholas Taleb, scholar and former trader; author of the Incerto.)

　　"Reading Alchemy was, as its title promised, the process of turning paper and print into gold. Veins of wisdom regarding human functioning emerge regularly and brilliantly from the pages. Don't miss this book." (Robert Cialdini, bestselling author of Influence, Yes!, The Small BIG and Pre-suasion)

　　"Deeply original" (Robert Trivers, evolutionary biologist and author of Deceit and Self-Deception)

　　"Sutherland’s book touches on many facets of life, but all come down to the importance of “psycho-logic”, or non-rational factors, in how we make decisions and how problems can be solved" (CAMPAIGN magazine)

　　"Rory Sutherland is one of the all-time great raconteurs, polymaths, and ad men. But this book shows his hidden depths. Within this fun, quirky, hilarious page-turner, he develops a profound critique of technocratic hubris and fetishised economics. Sutherland helps us rediscover the profound wisdom behind everyday human reasoning, and invites us to explore the magic that happens when we trust a bit less in our focus groups and optimization models, and trust a bit more in our creative eccentricity." (Geoffrey Miller, evolutionary psychologist, author of The Mating Mind, Spent, and What Women Want)

　　"Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant … wonderfully heretical, naughty and funny … Uncommon sense on stilts" (Jules Goddard, Fellow of the Centre for Management Development at London Business School and co-author of Uncommon Sense, Common Nonsense)

　　"Buy this book for the footnotes alone… As a committed devotee of rationalism, who thinks there is not enough of it in this world, I rationally ought to hate this book. Instead I loved it. It’s full of great insights." (Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist)

　　"Sutherland captivates in a narrative full of intellectual treats that explain much of the behaviours in the world around us. This illogically logical read is a must read for anyone who is in the people business!" (Dilip Soman, Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Science and Economics, University of Toronto)