Ever wondered what emotions look like? Scientists believe they do, and they’re using it to see why people like Pepsi. Neuromarketing, described as a “quantitative way to test the subconscious effectiveness” of advertisements, is a scary idea that marketing professionals hope will trick your mind into wanting things.

The technique has been around for a couple of years; most of the brain imaging technology was invented in the ‘90s. But it looks like researchers have either perfected the technology or at least their pitch for it; they’re grooming it as a replacement for focus group studies.

According to an article in Business Week , several corporations have been impressed with the University of Bath study’s findings. Nike, Wrigley, and Colgate-Palmolive are going to start using the research, even though it seems like the studies have thus far only been used to make obvious conclusions.

I wish I knew how much they spent to come to that conclusion – the article only says it costs under $200,000. I could have told them that people are more interested in alcoholic beverages that taste like candy than tea or an ancient charitable organization for way less.

Accusations that neuromarketing is a pipe dream and junk science abound. But beyond the question of whether or not it actually works, some wonder if it’s potentially harmful. Gary Ruskin of the watch dog group Commercial Art unsuccessfully lobbied members of Congress about the alleged risks of neuromarketing in 2004. He worried how neuromarketing could affect political campaigns. At the time, nobody cared. Now, neurology experts sound alarmed. In the Sept, 2007 issue of the medical journal Diagnostic Imaging, one expert warned that searches for the brain’s “buy button” could yield troubling results.

Earlier this year, a Stanford University mapped the brain activity occurring in the run-up to making a decision to buy or not buy something. The study weighed the pleasure that buying something new caused against the pain of having to pay for it. The study, which no doubt had marketers salivating, concluded that finding the buy button is a ways off.