Is Subliminal Advertising Effective? Essay

Those who believe in the value of subliminal audiotapes would be wrong to claim that:

Society uses manipulation to divert people’s attention every day and oftentimes people do not realize that they are being manipulated. An advertisement through television is one of the many ways that people are manipulated. TV uses advertisements daily by incorporating subliminal messages to get people to do things that they would not otherwise be thinking about doing. The following articles “Can TV improve us?” by Jane Rosenzweig, On Sale at Old Navy: Cool Clothes for Identical Zombies!” by Damien Cave and TV’s War of Words” by Deborah Tannen exemplify instances where manipulation is being showcased at its best.

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

Messages are hidden in all types of advertisements. In the matter in which a lot of marketing is displayed to the public, there is always a strategic form to capture the attention of people. It could be something such as attempting to buy a product or conveying a certain message in a specific way. A famous illustration and great example of linguistics being utilized in advertisement to portray and convey a message would be the 2015 Skittles commercial, through-out the commercial we are exposed to stylistic forms of linguistics such as metaphors, metonymy and syntax.

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Advertisements surround us constantly, and according to Potter, the average person is exposed to more then 15, and upward of 5,000 different advertisements (Potter, 2014, pg.235). These advertisements send us subliminal and direct messages that intrigue us to look further into the product. Advertisements continually present the same kind of messages, and although certain advertisements are geared towards you buying a product, they are teaching “valuable life lessons about whom you should be and how you should get there” (Potter 2014, p. 242). These subliminal messages persuade you to buy the product being advertised, or at least be more interested in said product. This essay will demonstrate that the persuasion tactics used in Skittles’ “Romance” commercial advertisement support Rank’s Model of Persuasion through the representation of association, repetition, and diversion.

Subliminal messages are prearranged thoughts or ideas placed into the subconscious mind. Subliminal messages involve reacting to stimuli that are above your physiological threshold but below your perceptual thresholds. So basically your brain processes the messages without you knowing. The two main types of subliminal messaging are auditory and visual. In these two categories there are also subcategories. According to Anthony Pratkanis and Anthony Greenwald, who are Psychology professors, have defined these four different subcategories as:

In a world where we can find most information at a click of a button, many of us come across some form of propaganda on a daily basis. Having it routinely within our presences, we have learned how to identify if something is an advertisement. To convey a message or product, companies need to broadcast their item with visuals, audio, or both. For example, fast food companies need to demonstrate an image of their food, such as the visual of a burger in the Carl’s Jr ad, or else nobody will be convinced to purchase their item because they will not be able to know if it is satisfying enough to consume.

Dave Ramsey, America’s most trusted financial adviser and a radio show host, once said, “We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like.” (Ramsey). Ramsey’s quote reflects the state of consumerism that our society is going through. Most of us can easily relate to this quote, let’s be honest most of us have been there done that and then later question our genuine need for whatever we have bought. Regardless, if we feel guilty or not we ought to ask ourselves why and what made this purchase seems so important and necessary at the time. Although this might not come as a surprise to most of us, the answer would be the advertisement industry. In 2016, The United States has spent more than 198 billion U.S dollars on advertising, making America the leader in advertisement in the world (Statista). These ads are designed to force consumers to keep buying things that are unnecessary by sending subliminal messages and applying psychology to trick the consumer into a spending spree. In his short story, “Subliminal Man”, J.G. Ballard uses science fiction approach to illustrate to his readers the preposterous techniques that the advertising industry has been using to boost consumerism. Ballard believes that the consumer’s brain has been tricked into buying against their well, by using technology and applying subliminal technics. Ballard short story questions the effect of consumerism on our moral values, lifestyle, and behavior. Ballard claims that

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).

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.

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.

In order to understand a group of people then you have to learn about the world. If there isn't an education about different cultures and ethnic groups then the only way to learn about them is through our own experiences with them. Due to past events there are many misconceptions about the world today and the people living in this world. There are also many negative stereotypes affecting people who are from the middle east. All that it means to be Arab is to be of a Semitic people inhabiting Arabia and other countries of the Middle East. Our worldview is limited today due to a deficit in education, stigma about educating oneself concerning Arabs or muslims, our fear of offending other cultures, and also an unwillingness to learn and put away

This class has brought awareness to the subject of diversity That takes place in the world every day. It puts into perspective all the cultures and diversity that gets brought into the classrooms of America. Having diversity in schools gives educators an opportunity to teach students to be open minded to any individual no matter their background. And the importance of treating every person equal,and learn to embrace diversity.

Chapter four is titled "I Can't See Cleary Now." Chapter four is about subliminal advertising, and the exploration of further subliminal advertising. In 1957 James Vicary who was a market researcher surprised people about his claim that a Coca-Cola ad flashing on a screen could influence their decision to buy. In chapter three on page twenty-eight Lindstrom explains about subliminal advertising and some examples of what it may be. He explains that “Generally speaking, subliminal messages are defined as visual, auditory, or any other sensory messages that register just below our level of conscious perception and can be detected only by the subconscious mind." Lindstrom then explains that when people are exposed to articles or news stories about subliminal messaging or advertising they feel as if they are not being fooled, he states that's how most people react "whether it's a report of a McDonald's logo flashing for one-thirtieth of a second during the Food Channel's Iron Chef America Program (a spokesperson for the Food Channel claimed it was a technical error), or an unfounded rumor that a cloud of dust in Disney's The Lion King spells out s-e-x."