Subliminal advertising 3
Subliminal advertising 3Subliminal Advertising
The United States ad industry consists of many agencies whose job it is to make sure that the American consumers buy their clients’ products. As many people get smart enough to look past the physical eye tricks the ads may play on them, the agencies have turned to subliminal messages to get their point across. From garbage bag advertisements to those for hard liquor, subliminal advertising almost always has an effect, usually without people even knowing it. If a company has the money, the time, and an attorney well versed in constitutional law, there is no reason why subliminal messages cannot appear in their advertisements.
Subliminal advertising is a technique for bypassing the conscious mind and putting a message in the subconscious mind. Subliminal advertising first became publicized in nineteen fifty seven when Jim Vicary flashed “drink Coca-Cola” and “eat popcorn” on a movie screen so that it could not be consciously seen, but subconsciously absorbed (Lechnar 3). Vicary reported an increase in the sale of popcorn and Coca-Cola as a result of his subliminal messages. He was later questioned about his results. He had no evidence of his findings and admitted his results were false. This example brought the public’s attention to the power that advertisers held over them.
To produce an effective advertisement, a company must invest a substantial amount of money to create a demand for their product. An ad agency can spend up to $50,000 to create a single, one page magazine layout or flyer containing subliminal messages, carefully reviewing it to attain perfection in every detail. Subliminal messages are an efficient way of creating that demand by swaying consumers to buy something they really do not need.
However, while subliminal messages are useful marketing tools, they have other uses as well. One such example is as a method of loss prevention. The elevator music you hear in Sears is not just there because the manager likes it. In nineteen seventy nine, about fifty department stores in the United states played music with subliminal anti-theft messages. The messages on the tapes were “I am honest. If I do steal, I will be caught and sent to jail” (Rogers 14). These sentences were replayed nine thousand times per hour. The results of these subliminal messages were remarkable. Theft was reduced by thirty-seven percent and one of the department stores saved half a million dollars by reducing shoplifters and employee theft (Rogers 15). Consumers do not object to this type of subliminal advertising because it helps prevent theft. The messages use key words which the human mind knows are wrong, even if a person’s personality would allow it..
Creating subliminal messages takes an incredible amount of time as well as capital. The same advertisements that cost up to $50,000 to produce, also require anywhere from three to five months of preparation, editing, and proofing to assure that every detail is just right so the consumer believes that the images appear there by coincidence, if the images are detected by the conscious mind at all. The liquor industry invests a great deal of money on subliminal advertising and many of the images concentrate on the taboos of society, such as sex and death. Although this may seem unscrupulous it increases sales, which is the bottom line in advertising. Perhaps more consideration should be given to the question of why such images increase sales, rather than criticizing the images themselves.
Subliminal messages are almost impossible to prove. Although there have been many experiments that support one side or the other, there is no consensus, so the debate continues. “It is difficult to tell whether images are interpreted through conscious understanding or images were absorbed without awareness. Since it can always be argued that some of the images that were meant to remain in the unconscious seeped into the conscious, no study can truly show that subliminal messages are effective”(Smith 870). Most of the public is convinced that they serve their purpose. “Consumers are aware of subliminal advertising, believe it is used by advertisers and is effective in influencing decisions” (Rogers 15). Subliminal advertising is very affective in the way it “can lead persons to buy things they wouldn't ordinarily buy” (Rogers 17). We flip through these messages everyday without them altering our consciousness but embedding in our subconscious. Which is more persuasive than an overt exchange of messages (Moore 46).
The legal aspect of subliminal advertising is clear. It is completely legal, although some people would like to change that fact. Critics of subliminal advertising claim that many of the images contained in subliminal advertisements result in some consumers to commit crimes such as, murder, rape, or suicide. This is not to say that any normal person who views an ad containing subliminal messages will go out and kill himself or others. The argument contends that the ad could be the proverbial, “straw that broke the camel’s back,” for someone already suffering from mental or emotional problems. However, lawsuits resulting from accusations such as these have been quickly dismissed due to the absence of any conclusive evidence in the cases. The fact that there are no laws forbidding subliminal messages in advertising, coupled with the fact that there has been no evidence of any negative behavior resulting from subliminal advertising, should be enough to appease critics. It is not illegal for a company to earn a profit. On the contrary, the first amendment of the United States Constitution states :"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." By outlawing subliminal messages in ads, the US government would directly violate the first amendment of the constitution. Subsequently, subliminal messages are protected by law. If a people want to be free of subliminal advertising, they need only to scrutinize advertisements and learn to pick out the hidden messages. Consumers comprehend only that which they choose to comprehend. Since subliminal messages can be averted by careful scrutiny opponents have no basis for objection.
Ultimately, the ad industry, by using subliminal messages, is merely utilizing a very effective method of marketing to increase sales for their clients. By investing huge amounts of time and money every year, companies will continue to persuade consumers to buy their products. If a corporation chooses to use these resources to help their business grow and prevent theft at the same time, there is absolutely no reason why they should be restricted from or criticized for doing so. I’m sure that companies would have no problem surviving if subliminal advertising were to be outlawed. However, if they were to be outlawed it could be construed as, “the tip of the iceberg.” Since such a law would inhibit the first amendment, where would this encroachment end? Would it then be acceptable to outlaw other forms of free speech that are controversial? In the end it is the freedom that this country was founded on that is at stake here.
Works Cited
Lechnar, Dr. David. “Subliminal advertising, 20th Century Brainwashing and what’s hidden in the Microsoft’s logo. 13 June 1998. 3 March 1999 .
Moore, Timothy E. “Scientific Consensus and Expert Testimony: Lessons from the Judas Priest Trial.” Skeptical Inquirer Nov-Dec 1996: 32-48.
Rogers, Martha and Kirk H. Smith. “Public Perceptions of Subliminal Advertising: Why Practitioners Shouldn't Ignore This Issue.” Journal of Advertising Research March- April 1993: 10-25.
Smith, K. H. “Effectiveness of Subliminal Messages in Television Commercials: Two
Experiments.” Journal of applied Psychology v.79 no. 6, 866-874
Modemac, R. “Subliminal Stimuli” There is no Black and
White December 1999: www.subgenius.com, 1-6