Subliminal Advertising
Introduction
A subliminal message is a signal or message embedded in another object, designed to pass below the normal limits of perception. These messages are indiscernible by the conscious mind but allegedly affect the subconscious or deeper mind. Subliminal techniques have occasionally been used in advertising and propaganda; the purpose, effectiveness, and frequency of such techniques are debated.
Can words flashed quickly on a screen make you want to purchase a product? Can a hidden image persuade you to spend your hard-earned cash on something you don’t need? This topic will explore the questions surrounding subliminal advertising.
History of Subliminal Advertising
In the 1950s, a researcher named James Vicary coined the term to describe what he claimed he found in his Popcorn Experiment. He argued that sales of concessions had increased based on the split-second flashing of visual stimuli, suggesting people make these purchases. Vicary later retracted his claim, but the thought was an intriguing one for the public. Can we be made to take actions based on information received below our conscious awareness? People asked themselves, “How frightening is that?”
Years later, when a 1973 ad for a board game named Husker Du included the flashing of the words ‘Get It,’ the ad was removed from the air. The incident led to the Federal Trade Commission’s official stance against the ads. The Commission saw these ads as deceptive and banned the practice of using subliminal ads, even though there wasn’t definitive research to prove the effects. Even now, the question of whether we are affected by subliminal marketing is up for debate.
Definition
According to Business Dictionary, “Promotional messages the recipient is not aware of, such as those played at very low volume or flashed on a screen for less than a second. Its effectiveness is not supported by scientific evidence, and its use is considered a deceptive business practice in some jurisdictions.”
Subliminal advertising advocates would say that if you’d seen those words flashed at you for a fraction of a second, you’d be more likely to do as they say. The claim is that our brain has picked up the message even if we haven’t.
As you read those exclamations now, you probably wondered what they were doing at the beginning of your lesson. But what if you hadn’t perceived them at all, if they’d flashed on your screen as visual stimuli, and you couldn’t even remember you’d seen them? Stimuli such as images may activate our brain even if we don’t fully perceive what is happening.
The argument goes that you’d feel more compelled to consume the tasty treats as a result of these subliminal visual stimuli. And the weird part is, you wouldn’t even know why you were craving them because the messages were below the threshold of your perception.
Advertising can manipulate our emotions, with or without making the process hidden. To balance out the tremendous power of advertising, a person can aim to consider and question how the company is trying to position the product and then weigh whether he really needs what is being sold. This is a big part of why subliminal advertising is considered deceptive. When something is below our level of perception, we miss out on the opportunity to consider the message being communicated to us.
Subliminal Messages
A subliminal message is an affirmation or message, either auditory or visual, presented below the normal limits of human auditory or visual perception.
For example, the subliminal signal might be inaudible to the conscious mind because it is below the conscious threshold of hearing (but audible to the unconscious or deeper mind) or might be an image transmitted briefly and unperceived consciously and yet perceived unconsciously.
While this definition assumes a difference between conscious and unconscious—this might be misleading in the understanding and use; it may be more true to suggest that the subliminal message (sound or image) is perceived by deeper parts of what is a single integrated mind.
How do subliminal messages work?
It is suspected and usually tested in psychological studies that subliminal messages gain their potential ability to influence from the fact that they may be able to circumvent the conscious awareness and its critical functions.
For example, if you were listening to a subliminal session for weight loss and you were able to hear the affirmation “I am slim and trim,” your conscious mind would say to itself, “What a load of crap; I am fat and hate my body.” The idea is that since you are unable to criticize the affirmation when you cannot consciously hear it, it is accepted by the subconscious mind without comment or rebuttal.
This route to influence or persuasion would be akin to auto-suggestion or hypnosis wherein the subject is encouraged to be (or induced to be) relaxed so that suggestions are directed to deeper parts of the mind; some observers have argued that the unconscious mind is incapable of critical refusal of hypnotic or subliminal suggestions.
Research findings so far do not support the conclusion that subliminal suggestions are peculiarly powerful. Although this might be because most of the studies into subliminal suggestions or influence involve a one-off subliminal stimulus, and then behavior is measured to test any influence. Usually, if at all, the response of subjects is small and weak.
Subliminal Perceptions in Marketing
An organization’s marketing is effective when it delivers a message that sticks in consumers’ minds and influences them to buy. Consumers experience subliminal perception from marketing messages that influence them without their conscious knowledge. Subliminal influence on consumer buying behavior has been studied and debated for decades. Many marketers include subliminal words and images in advertising, while others don’t make it a priority.
1. Subliminal Marketing
Subliminal messages influence consumers only under certain conditions. “Subliminal” means “below the threshold,” so subliminal messages are aimed at consumers’ subconscious minds. Many marketers include subliminal references to sex, power, happiness, hunger, or wealth in their print, online, and television ads or in brand logos.
For example, one print ad for Coca-Cola featured frost that some argued was subtly shaped in the image of a naked woman on the top of a can. Presumably, that image would shift the perception of the drink and make it more attractive to the target market. In another example, the Amazon logo features a smiley face that connects the letters A and Z in Amazon as if to suggest that consumers can find anything from A to Z and always be happy doing business with Amazon.
2. Creating Preferences
Subliminal marketing can influence consumers to prefer your product if they don’t already have a strong preference for a competing product.
For example, in a 2011 study published in the “Journal of Consumer Psychology,” researchers tested whether a subliminal message of an iced-tea brand could influence viewers’ choices when they were given the option to drink iced tea or bottled water at the end of an experiment. The data determined that only thirsty viewers were influenced, and only those who either didn’t prefer iced tea or didn’t prefer either choice were influenced to choose the iced tea because of the subliminal message.
3. Motivation Necessary
Consumers have to have heard of the brand in a subliminal message and be motivated to do what the subliminal message suggests in order to be influenced by subliminal perception. For example, if you don’t own a dog, watching a subliminal message to “Buy Brand-X dog food” flashed quickly at intervals throughout a movie won’t influence you to buy dog food.
The subliminal message may influence you, however, to choose Brand X over Brand Y if you already plan to buy dog food after watching the movie. At the same time, the subliminal message about Brand-X will likely have no influence on a dog food-buying consumer if the consumer strongly prefers Brand-Y or has never heard of Brand-X before.
4. Subliminal Exposed
While implanting subliminal messages in marketing can help sway some undecided consumers, many marketers don’t see the need. Compelling marketing that moves conscious thoughts and emotions does more to keep consumers coming back to a brand they already like. Additionally, any subliminal impact of ads and logos on consumers’ minds is diminished when the supposed subliminal messages or images are exposed.
For example, when you’re told that the frost on a cola can in an ad is shaped like a woman, the subliminal image no longer serves its purpose. Once your subliminal trick is revealed, the words or images become just another part of the overt marketing message consumers will consciously think about regarding your brand.
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