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
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 sense, subconscious perception involves images, colors and shapes that are automatically picked up by the mind without the individual knowing it consciously. Examples of subliminal messages are images flashed on a movie screen at a incredibly fast rate such as 1/300 of a second or audio that is played below the level of the music or talk that is masking it. Many scientists have conducted their own experiments with subliminal messaging. Many have had success when the subjects to be tested were primed for the desired action and then shown the subliminal messages. All these studies have suggested that subliminal images can, at best, only encourage an existing desire. James Vicary put it best when he described subliminal images as "a mild form of advertising" and "a very weak persuader" (Wash 1). When the subjects to be shown the subliminals are not primed, in advance, the results have been inconclusive to the point that "subliminal technologies have turned up no evidence of a subliminal persuasion effect" (Fallacy 1). Scene from The Lion King Lucky Strike ad Pack of Camel cigarettes 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: It is virtually impossible to pick up a newspaper or magazine, turn on a radio or television set, read a promotional pamphlet or the telephone book, or shop through a supermarket without having your subconscious purposely massaged by some monstrously clever artist, photographer, writer, or technician. (Key 11) 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 no
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1818
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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