Advertising
Advertising has been part of the American economy for some time. Over that time advertising has grown significantly from a single page ad with one black and white photo to today's million dollar multi-media campaigns, including TV and magazine adds designed specifically to make you want to buy what everyone is selling. At the heart of every advertising campaign is a sales pitch which is obvious. Beginning in the 50's advertisers were looking at all available techniques to get their product sold. This included a very new and untested broadcasting method called subliminal projection. The idea of using an individual's subliminal perception was a direct result of research in the 50's concerning the human subconscious and how it is effected by the world around us. One man in particular would try to use the subconscious to communicate directly with people's minds without them even knowing it. The term subliminal messages was born and the use of these messages has risen in the ranks of advertisers wanting to sell their products with increased results. In 1957 a new scare came into the public spotlight. This scare was given the name subliminal advertising by the father of this new technique, James
The most prevalent study of the use of subliminal messages has to be the trials conducted by James Vicary in 1957 in a theater in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Vicary used his newly developed machine to flash images onto the screen in five second intervals at a speed of 1/300th of a second. The claimed results of the test according to Vicary was that cola sales improved by 18% while popcorn sales rose an amazing 58%. Vicary was never able to provide records of his test. Vicary stuck by his claims even though many other scientists could not replicate Vicary's success. One such test was posted in a bulletin from the FCC that said: This was to be only one of many such tests of subliminal messages that failed to produce any results, let alone the one claimed in Vicary's movie theater. The further reckless testing by companies on the public brought concern from many people. One of these people was Aldous Huxley who is the author of A Brave New World who said: The plaintiffs were parent's of two boys that attempted suicide after listening to the 1978 Judas Priest album Stained Class in which the words "Do it" supposedly were heard subconsciously. The trial demanded that many decisions on subliminal speech be made. In that trial, Judge Jerry Whitehead declared that "subliminals are not protected speech, due to the fact that hidden messages do not impart information as do statements that are actually heard" (Suicide 2). The defendants quickly turned to the supposed existence of the words "Do it" and the strength that subliminals posses. The band was later acquitted of the charges after the strength of subliminals was not deemed enough to cause someone to commit suicide, unless the idea was already firmly in place. Furthermore the words "Do it" were never proven to be an intended part of the recording. The trial's verdict was declared a victory for the entire music industry. Vicary. Vicary was the first person to think up subliminal perception and went on after much encouragement to develop a machine capable of testing his theory. Finally Vicary created a company called Subliminal Projection Co. to market his new product. When news of Vicary's new technology reached the public eye it resulted in public hysteria. From the beginning, Vicary's technological invention was labeled as mind altering and destructive. Still many advertisers quickly adopted this new and untested form of advertising hoping to sell their product in increased numbers. The most noticeable of these advertisers was KTLA in Los Angeles. Soon after announcing their use of subliminal messages a story appeared in the New York Times stating that "(KTLA) was certainly playing with fire" (Wash 2). This hysteria brought a qu
Some common words found in the essay are:
Brave World, James Vicary, Advertising American, Subliminal Seduction, Jerry Whitehead, FCC January, Jersey Vicary, Projection Co, James McConnel, subliminal messages, Howard Johnson's, james vicary, lion king, subliminal perception, called 'embeds' key, subliminal advertising, subliminals protected, scene lion, survives 1, people's minds, called subliminal, called subliminal projection, scene lion king,
Approximate Word count = 1817
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
