ABSTRACT
A mistress of Picasso went to visit Matisse when he was too old to paint and so had developed his style of cutouts. When she saw this work she described it as "the audacity of simplicity". Simplicity is also important in terms of how much is offered, less can be more when it comes to persuasion. Behavioural scientists Kimberlee Weaver, Stephen Garcia and Norbert Schwarz noticed that people tend to believe that extra features and information will strengthen persuasion. Much debate on marketing occupies a similar world where the beliefs which often appear to rule seem similar to those of Dorothy regarding the Wizard of Oz. The academics in marketing with a mathematical and theoretical approach far outnumber those who emphasise qualitative techniques and inductive approaches. The former has not only become the template of the approach to marketing in the academic sphere but has also crept into the practical and pragmatic world of business.
