Subliminal Advertising 3
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
Moore, Timothy E. "Scientific Consensus and Expert Testimony: Lessons from the Judas Priest Trial." Skeptical Inquirer Nov-Dec 1996: 32-48. 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). example brought the public's attention to the power that advertisers held over them. 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
Some common words found in the essay are:
Jim Vicary, Constitution Congress, Advertising United, subliminal messages, subliminal advertising, Century Brainwashing, Experiments Journal, White December, March- April, Inquirer Nov-Dec, David Subliminal, consumers buy, Subliminal Advertising, containing subliminal messages, prevent theft, increase sales, conscious mind, department stores, containing subliminal, rogers 15, ad industry,
Approximate Word count = 1366
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
