Subliminal Advertising: The Hidden Persuader?

Subliminal messages come in several different forms. This paper will discuss the following forms of subliminal messages:

Subliminal messaging, especially as it relates to advertising, has been around since at least the 1950’s. It really came to the forefront because of a man name James Vicary. It is reported that he wanted to boost the sales of snacks in movie theaters and flashed the words “Drink Coke” and “Eat Popcorn” on the projector screen. These words were flashed on so quickly that they couldn’t be recognized by the conscious mind. He then reported to the press that sales had increased by 58%. However, his results have been questioned because they have not been able to be duplicated in any other studies. Even though there are no confirming studies regarding the effectiveness of subliminal advertising, it is still discussed and debated in many circles.

The “invisible” messages are those that are (1) flashed before the eyes so quickly that the conscious mind cannot see them; (2) hidden embedded words in pictures; or messages played in such a way, in th

Are subliminal messages effective at manipulating individuals to do things they otherwise wouldn’t do? I don’t believe there is enough evidence to support the idea that they are effective. Again, according to the website for this assignment, “The January 1991 issue of The University of California, Berkeley, Wellness Letter refers to ‘the complete lack of evidence any scientific evidence that such messages can alter human behaviour.’” I wasn’t able to find any reputable scientific study or any reference to one which confirms that subliminal advertising works. Consequently, It is unclear to me how the embedded word “sex” in an advertisement can persuade someone to purchase the product advertised. At the very least there would have to be a link between the embedded word and the product and I wasn’t able to determine any reasonable link in the examples I viewed. Just showing the word doesn’t necessarily translate into sales. However, there seems to be evidence that there are advertisers who use subliminal messages, in some form, just in case such messages might persuade someone to buy their product.

Backmasking involves subliminal messages which are found when songs are played backwards. It is not clear whether these messages are intentional or accidental. There are examples of backmasked messages which glorify Satan, talk about lewd behavior, and that extol the virtues of socialism. The criticism is that these messages are only heard by the sub conscious mind and therefore can persuade individuals to do things they wouldn’t normally do. The dangerous ramifications of

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