Advertising: Information or Manipulation?

In other words, advertising is a form of communication as well as a marketing function where the advertiser pays for the use of the communications media. It is non-personal (compared to personal selling) and has to be persuasive and convincing in order to sell or secure favorable consideration. The advertiser has to communicate facts and ideas to the public in such a way that the information fits the needs, wants, and interests of the public (Crisostomo 4).

A surprising fact presented in this video is that audiences in America are exposed to an average of 3,000 ads per day. Overall, Americans will spend an average of 3 years of their lifetime watching commercials. It is no surprise that the images presented on those commercials mold the minds and ideas of viewers, even at a subconscious level.

Subliminal messages were first though to have shown up in movie theaters, when a projectionist flashed the words “Drink Coca-cola” and “Hungry…Eat popcorn” across the movie screen. He created fake statistics about how popcorn and cokes increased after he showed the subliminal messages. Warwick’s film brings forward the question as to if subliminal message are still being used today. He discusses the history behind subliminal messages found in music, movies and advertisements. Warrick gives the examples of songs played backwards will tell listeners to worship Satin, but he disproves this by showing three groups of high schoolers the same song but telling them different lyrics and them agreeing that those were the lyrics they heard. Not only does he discuss how media uses subliminal message but about they appear in politics as well. One example used was during the Bush- Gore campaign in the early 2000s, when the word “RATS” appeared in one of the political commercials. The film refers to these messages as subliminal but they are more like subconscious side effects by seeing something that marketing professionals want you to see and then you wanting them, like movies using

There are millions of different types of advertisements that we can view from anywhere in the world from our electronic devices to a newspaper on a stand. Advertisements are being sent out in any way that the companies can possibly think that it would make us want to buy their products. The thing that we do not always see with these advertisements is their subtle hints that make you want to buy their products without you even realizing that you want to. It can be the jingle, age of the actors, special moments in scene, or anything along the lines that the company trying to sell you their product will use. To express this I will utilize three commercial videos from the company, State Farm that all use these types of subtle

According to the article "The Influence of Subliminal Messages", it states that subliminal messages can influence our attitudes and behavior. Also, under certain circumstances of course, subliminal messages may or may not have the

Throughout the last decades there has been vast improvements in advertising and its persuasive effects to our psychology. Not only has it become part of our global culture, it is so deeply ingrained in our society that we sometimes don't even notice if someone trying persuade us by their use of simplistic persuasive techniques. It is only when we reflect on the speech, video, or advertisement that we can pinpoint their propaganda objectives.

Subliminal messages are words, images, or sounds that may arise in television, radio commercials, TV shows, movies, print ads, or recorded music. Mostly, when subliminal messages are seen or heard, they are not acknowledged for what they are. In fact, they may be ignored by the conscious brain and be beyond the level of conscious perception (“What are Subliminal Messages?”).

In conclusion, although subliminal messages can be influenced by advertisements, movies and music effectively people must already have a need. Subliminal messages can influence your thoughts and behavior but they can’t make you do something you wouldn’t already do. Subliminal messages can’t control your behavior, they can only guide your decision

As marketers, it is important for us to make ourselves familiar with these subliminal messages and use them to our advantage. Our job is to market, promote, and brand products

Advertising invades every aspect of our modern lives. It is shoved upon us from every aspect of media. Internet, television, radio, movies, and even our streets seem to be centered on it. We are asked to buy, try, and consume the next best thing. While most things advertised are meaningful and can possibly be used to either help or make our lives better, we do not necessarily need it. Mostly what we are exposed to in advertising is propaganda, and to define it better, the authors of the book, “Propaganda and Persuasion” state propaganda as the following, “Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the

The viewer sits on the couch, nestled inside a cozy, warm blanket with a large bowl of buttery and salty popcorn on his lap. His heart starts racing as the movie reaches its climax. Just as his lungs stop breathing and his eyes grow wide with fascination, the channel changes to an old advertisement that he’s seen a thousand times. Ads like that one appeal to the three main techniques that have subliminal messages to viewers. These different techniques have proven to be effective with television watchers. Advertisers use these three techniques to target a certain audience.

Advertisers and marketing companies are mostly interested in subliminal manipulation because by targeting consumers’ subconscious mind, they can control their involuntary actions, emotions and beliefs. The subconscious part of our mind is able to process around 20,000 pieces of information per second, where as our conscious part can only cope with about forty. This function explains why any subliminal message that our subconscious receives, can be received and responded to by consumers without them ever being aware of it. This form of mind control can be very powerful if used correctly, it could influence consumers to want and buy a product without their control (Winder).

There was a time when advertisement were made only to market and sell the products but now dramatic changes have taken place in this field (Shead and Dobson 01). Today companies not only want to sell their products but also aim to create emotional attachment with the customers for which they do emotional or subliminal advertising.

This was greatly adapted in the 1950’s and has moved onwards, becoming more common in the present. Subliminal advertising largely started in movie theaters, where in cinemas they would strew messages saying “drink Coca-Cola (Sheehan, K. B. 2013).” The “drink Coca-Cola” was a phrase that would appear on the screen during the start of the movies and during the intermission and it would subconsciously impulse the viewer to buy Coca-Cola from the food court. Coming into the future this method is used in videogames where while playing you are met with company logos upon starting the game and thereafter shown products from other companies that are placed within the game. Some of the oldest advertisements that appear are from canned beverage companies and now newcomers such as car companies are coming into play, all the while polluting our screens with more subliminal advertising. The introduction of subliminal advertisements into video games has become the next step for many companies taking advantage of a person getting engulfed in the game screen in front of them. In relative concept, companies are taking advantage of the real estate that is your television or your computer and even your mobile phone to get you to buy their products.

But first, we should give a useful definition of advertising. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica (2015), advertising are ‘‘the techniques and practices used to bring products, services, opinions, or causes to public notice for the purpose of persuading the public to respond in a certain way toward what is advertised’’. Meanwhile, Belch and Belch (2009, p.18) describe advertising as ‘‘any paid form of impersonal communication about an organization, product, service or idea by an identified sponsor’’.