Subliminal Advertising

Subliminal Advertising is the pushing of an advertising or propaganda message in such a way that it will enter the unconsious mind of the target without the person being aware that he is being manipulated.

Subliminal advertising can be used in advertising and propaganda, the effectiveness of this technique is debatable, the potential for abuse (if it works) is even more so.

Wikipedia has a page on Subliminal Messages

The practice of subliminal advertising is considered to be wrong and banned in most countries.

Examples of Subliminal advertising

The best known example of subliminal advertising is the inserting a couple of frames of an advertising message inside a film, this was tried in a cinema using the words 'buy popcorn' and 'drink coke' with the effect that sales of both increased. A similar test using television and a 'phone now' message did not seem to have an effect. Maybe the difference is that most people watching a film in the cinema are already predisposed to eat and drink, while much fewer are likely to make a random phone call while watching television.

There are a number of other techniques that - while some would consider them as being out of order - are both used and legal:

www.mindpowernews.com/SubliminalAds.htm In the article '10 Disturbing Trends in Subliminal Advertising' there are a good few examples of the alleged use of subliminal advertising. How fake news, mind control scripts, propaganda and stealth voicemail is used to manipulate and persuade the public.

skepdic.com/subliminal.html has a critical write up on the use of subliminal advertising.

It would seem that showing a propaganda message or an advertising message as part of a film of an audio so that the audience cannot detect it is considered wrong - and in many cases is illegal, at the same time it is also considered to be in-effective.

The use of persuasive words, images, and smells is OK and is used frequently to put the customer into a more receptive 'buying frame of mind.

One aspect of 'subliminal advertising' that seems to have gone unnoticed and unremarked is the whole branding process that most large corporations use.

How often do you see an advert showing the brand name of a company without any obvious selling message. This is done to make you comfortable and familiar with a particular brand. After seeing (unconsiously) the company brand or logo many times; when you are in a supermarket making a decision on which can to put into your basket - will you pick up the unfamiliar brand or the one you have seen many time before?

This aspect has been ignored in internet advertising. Every one is chasing the pay per click bandwagon, and this is an excellent way of spending your advertising budget. Put your advert in front of your target just when they are about to make a buying decision.

Unfortunately this is being used in inappropriate ways. Yes - pay per click to get onto google's search results, but don't try it when your pay per click advert is an irritation and a distraction.

A good example of totally inappropriate (not wrong - just stupid) is the use of animation and sound where the intention is to distract the target (I was going to use the word 'customer' - but target is more appropriate) from what they are doing. This seems to be partucularly prevelant in games websites. If I am in the middle of a game and wiping the floor with my enemy your distraction is just going to irritate me! I may click on your ad just to waste your advertising budget so I can get back to my game in peace.

On the other hand - if your advert sits there on the corner of my screen - quietly unobservered by my consious mind. Your logo is slowly branding itself on my unconsious brain. The next time I'm in a supermarket guess whose product I will be more likely to buy?

Creative Advertising: Ideas and Techniques from the World's Best Campaigns
Published: 2004-05 Paperback
List Price: £24.95
Amazon Price: £16.46 Prices subject to change.
You Save: £8.49 (34%)

Rewind: Forty Years of Design and Advertising
Published: 2004-10 Paperback
List Price: £24.95
Amazon Price: £16.46 Prices subject to change.
You Save: £8.49 (34%)

Ogilvy on Advertising
Published: October 15, 1995 Paperback
List Price: £12.99
Amazon Price: £8.57 Prices subject to change.
You Save: £4.42 (34%)

The Secret Sales Pitch: An Overview of Subliminal Advertising
Published: 2004-01 Paperback
List Price: £10.60
Amazon Price: £9.54 Prices subject to change.
You Save: £1.06 (10%)

Advertising Agency Business
Published: December 01, 1997 Hardcover
List Price: £23.99
Amazon Price: £15.83 Prices subject to change.
You Save: £8.16 (34%)

Advertising as Communication
Published: November 18, 1982 Paperback
List Price: £14.99
Amazon Price: £14.24 Prices subject to change.
You Save: £0.75 ( 5%)

Shopping

Advertising Articles