Subliminal Advertising And The Media

America is being ran by advertisements and commercials. Each advertisement or commercial has a subliminal message and are trying to peek at the consumer’s subconscious to

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

Subliminal messages are messages that are perceived in the unconscious mind that most of the time we are not aware of. These messages are mainly designed to influence that way we think and feel. They are used to get people to buy products from their company. Subliminal messages can be perceived auditory or visually. Subliminal messages should not be legal and should be banned from being used in advertisement for it can lead to negative results. There should be another way to advertise that. Doesn’t involve manipulating our minds into buying the products.

Television is an electronic telecommunication device that transmits pictures and sounds. Since its inception and release into society, the Television has grown to become extremely popular. The undying devotion to this medium has helped shape many aspects of human life. It has become a tool for education and entertainment. Businesses have found an efficient means to access the wider public through advertising. Advertising is a paid form of publicity aimed at a large audience by businesses with a view to increasing sales. Advertisements, unlike propaganda, have clearly stated sponsors. Through advertising, businesses can communicate with the user of their goods and services. The television allowed for the exponential expansion of advertisement. While older media is still used for advertising, Television’s ability to transmit moving picture and sound put it well above print media and radio (Messaris 2)

Today’s society is faced with a plethora of media appealing to their emotional state by advertising the basic human need, to eat. The images that we see each and every day of our lives appear in media such as, magazines, billboards, television, during movies, and on the internet. These images are artfully recorded as film or photographs in such an advanced way that they tempt and tease our senses, inviting us to purchase and eat such a wonderful product (Cyberpat.com, 2013). Our senses are bombarded with messages constantly and are extremely sensitive to the messages they receive. The sense of sight and sense of smell are particularly sensitive and have a special connection with the processing of messages that affect the emotions Croy, Schirato and Webb, 2004). This is often referred to as The Hedonic Experiential Model. It is refers to the way consumers process information based on the concept that purchasing decision may be spur of the moment or irrational. This model reflects the emotions of the consumer, which more than likely, have been influenced by advertising or visual propaganda. (Clow) It is with little wonder that advertising or mass media propaganda, are expressed utilising the senses, and in particular, the sense of sight (Alden and Steenkamp et al., 1999).

There are endless matters on the practice of manipulation over society’s way of thinking. The large, media establishments are using the power of this system to implant subliminal messages in expectations to effect our views. Subliminal messages have an excessive impact on choices we make on a daily basis, yet we are unaware of it. It is a sophisticated tool of manipulation first consumed in the late nineteenth century. The thesaurus description of ‘subliminal’ refers to the unconscious mind and endures or functions below the threshold of consciousness. (Oxford Dictionary, 2017)

Subliminal perception is the reaction to a stimulus that occurs without awareness. In other words, subliminal perception is kind of like mind control which can influence your thoughts, feelings, and actions. And in this paragraph I will argue that is does exist. One reason to believe subliminal perception exist for example, subliminal messaging occurred when BBC first began broadcasting radio people thought that it was “the voice of the devil”. Thus, in order to change their perception about the radio BBC took particular phrases using backward masking in their jingles which in the end worked.

Imagine sitting at home watching television and a commercial pops ups with a savory, juicy, and a mouth watering steak. People would love to have these items. Advertising is known to be the prime way to spread and sell subliminal messaging to the homes across the worlds

In order to be able to identify subliminal messaging in various medias, one must know the definition of subliminal. Subliminal is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as, “(of a stimulus or mental process) below the threshold of sensation or consciousness; perceived by or affecting someone’s mind without their being aware of it.” This definition can be confusing, so using further research, Psychologist World gives a more layman’s term definition and the overall goal of subliminal messaging as a hint that is used to bypass the normal mental process.

Has the thought of being brainwashed ever occurred, well as a matter of fact, every day we are exposed to a form of this act just by the switch to your TV, radio, or the flip of a magazine, even just taking a trip to the local grocery store as you pass by billboards. Being completely unaware can be quite atrocious, but no harm is done to our mentality. Subliminal advertising has made a big increase of the sale production; they consist of stimulus that pertains to our society’s interest that will persuade our subconscious mind. Being used as a deceptive business practice, flashing stimulus to the rate our own conscious mind is unable to perceive, permitting us from using our choice of free will and conscious decisions, therefore, the advertisers are manipulating consumers to buy their product, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has prohibited the conspiracy of subliminal advertising making this form of promotion illegal, however, since the subliminals are intended to approach us below our level of perception, this issue makes it more technical illegal, so there are still plenty of subliminal advertisements being viewed today.

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).

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

The theme for this “The Subliminal Man” is how people are unknowingly allowing themselves to be controlled by advertisements. People put their trust into the government or the companies that they have always shopped at to want to do what is best for their shoppers, when in reality they only do what creates the most income or has the most income for them. “Ultimately we’ll all be working and spending twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. No one will dare refuse. Think what a slump would mean- millions of layoffs, people with time on their hands and nothing to spend it on.” This quote exemplifies the theme because it shows how the government increases prices on everything to keeps jobs, but this means more hours must be worked to pay for all of these things, and that means less free time to just be human. “BUY NOW BUY NOW BUY NOW… NEW CAR NEW CAR NEW CAR… YES YES YES YES YES” This is an example of how once a person slows down and looks around them, their will be opened to the little seeds planted in their minds everyday that drive them to think the way they do

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.