Subliminal Advertising

Here is a trailer of a documentary called "Programming the Nation" which goes into depth about the 

history of subliminal messaging. 

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Subliminal messages are predetermined methods thought out by communication techniciains which are made to influence individuals to reply to information given subconiously. These messages can be written, hiden in pictures or voices, and given very fast and vaguely so that it avoids your conscious mind. Messages that are consciously seen or heard can be judged and critiqued, giving us the chance to choose how we want to react. Subliminal messages sink into our subconscious minds giving us no opportunity to react or decide how we want to feel towards the message given, and may cause us to respond in a order which we ordinarily wouldn't.

Since the 5th century, greeks created the science of rhetoric which is a way of influencing people to react in a certain way in which they normally wouldn't. Giving pieces of persuasive information to people can be manipulative and when they see or hear certain bits of data, they can be persuaded one way or another, without being aware. The way in which we process information, and the effectiveness that subliminal messages has on our brain has been continually studied throughout history, including many commercial experiments during the mid 50's. These commercial experiments included projecting subliminal images during television, and also audio subliminal messages during radio commercials. 

One of the most well known subliminal messaging experiments created was done by a man named James Vicary in 1957 which aired during the presentation of the movie Picnic. It featured the words "Hungry? Eat Popcorn. Drink Coca Cola" which appeared every 5 seconds for the span of 0.003 seconds. It was said that the popcorn sales increased by 58% and the Coke by 18%. This information shocked the public and caused a controversial stir, giving individuals the impression that effects of subliminal perception in the future would cause a world where everyone was subliminally controlled to do what the government authorities wanted. Later on in 1962 James Vicary stated that his study was untrue and he never gave any detailed description of his study, giving him no evidence to support his theory. 

This subliminal message is just plain clever in my opinion, I've purchased tostitos many times 

throughout my life, but never noticed the two people with the salsa dip between. Now that I think of 

it though, I can never eat Tostitos without salsa, could this be a coincidence? Or is the logo influencing

 my subconcious mind without me even noticing.

So, what are my thoughts on subliminal messaging? 

I feel that subliminal messages are very effective and can control us to react in a certain desired way. Subliminal messages are meant to be absorbed subconsciously into our brains, so if we subconsciously perceive it, how are we to know that it actually affected us? I think that certain subliminal messages like per say, James Vicary's strategy, are more effective over nonsense advertisements with "sex" messages hidden in them which virtually have no meaning really at all, and are typically non related to the product or true meaning of the message given. I believe that these "naughty" messages are typically done by accident, as it is known to the design and advertising industry that sometimes when we create things we oversee the little details that others may notice. So, products or signs which hidden "sex" words, etc are more likely accidental than anything, in my opinion.

This is a video recorded by someone who found a McDonalds subliminal message during a food network show, I believe a message like this could definantely have an affect on our subconcious decisions and potentially pursuade us to go and eat at McDonalds, without knowing we were influenced for those short seconds it was flashed. 

On the other hand, I believe other subliminal messaging like flashing demands during a television show, are intentional and effective. This messages tell our subconscious mind to do things, and we may actually do them whether or not we realize it. Flashing a McDonalds logo during a cooking show, could be extremely effective, since normally when we tune into a food channel on television, we tend to become hungry, and seeing a McDonalds advert quickly during the show may potentially get our minds to subconsciously think "Hm...I'm hungry, maybe I should grab a quick burger and fry at McDonalds."

So in conclusion, do I believe subliminal messaging is meant to manipulate us, or persuade us to respond in a certain way? Yes and no. Like I said, certain subliminal messages like flashing food advertisements during a television show or movie, are definitely manipulative and out there to persuade us. But hidden messages like "sex" on a skittles bag, are most likely mistakes made by whomever designed them, I mean why else would someone randomly stick a word which has no relation to the product whatsoever? 

Entry #4: Humour in Advertising...Is It Really Effective?

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Humour has been a common strategy in advertising for many years, but is it true that humour is really effective for these companies to make their brand more memorable, or are these witty adverts all too much effort for the outcome they produce? Many humorous advertisements tend to be the most memorable, as it gets people talking about them, and sharing them with friends, etc. But does this really increase sales? Or do people just watch and share these advertisements because they're entertaining to look/watch and laugh?

Personally, I do agree that humour in advertising can be effective to a certain degree. Although, some factors need to be kept in mind when producing humorous ads such as; appropriate humour for the product, funny/witty–not insulting or obnoxious, targeting the humour of the audience who typically would be interested in purchasing the product, and most importantly, persuading the target audience to actually purchase these products. A really important key to remember is not to lose your intent of the advertisement, which is increasing sales. I think it's important that if an advertisement is humorous, it still needs to be specific and must make it's point, so that the audience doesn't get lost in the humour, and actually goes through with purchasing the product.

"According to a 1993 Journal of Marketing study that examined multinational effects of humour on advertising (a study that still stands true), the major conclusion was that humour is more likely to enhance recall, evaluation, and purchase intention when the humorous message coincides with ad objectives, is well-integrated with those objectives, and is viewed as appropriate for the product category. Under such circumstances, humorous advertising is more likely to secure audience attention, increase memorability, overcome sales resistance, and enhance message persuasiveness."

Another factor to keep in mind is; humour is in the eye of the beholder, and it is very easy to insult a certain audience, and certain humour can be easily misinterpreted. So, I think that the humour should be kept lightly, not too obnoxious where it can easily be taken the wrong way, and potentially leave a bad impression for your company. I also think that the humour strategy may be too risky for smaller, less mainstream companies because if the humour is mistaken or misses the mark, then this small company is putting a huge damper on their sales when they're really in no position to. Where as a huge franchise like McDonalds, has more room for advertisement fails because people will most likely still purchase their products even if they're humour was misinterpreted since they have such a huge audience range.

Above is a risky commercial for the men's Axe Detailer Shower Tool. This is a really good example of an advertisement that appeals to majority of it's target audience (men ages 18-30s), but this commerical could easily be offending to a certain audience such as older folks or people with a more serious sense of humour. 

So, is humour really an asset for improving sales and getting your company name our there? Not really. There are numerous advertisements that have been very successful without the need to be funny. But I do agree that humour can be an easy way of getting people's attention. On the other hand, humour can be a really difficult strategy to use since it's so wide, and every person has a different sense of humour. Some companies may have the mindset that they don't really care if certain individuals are insulted by their adverts since they're only objective is targeting a certain crowd of people, and I think this is a bit risky since if you want you're company to become large and well respected, why would you put your company's reputation in that kind of predicament. That's just my view though, I personally would want my brand to be well respected by all different crowds, as this results in higher sales, and not just limiting your product to a specific target audience. 

I also feel that there are certain company groups that can use the humour strategy, and ones that should not. Certain subjects that may be a sensitive topic to many people should not use humour in my opinion. Including humour that may come across as racist, sexist, or even just plain cold should never be used. This is obviously just going to create problems and controversy for your company. Below are a few advertisements which I found should not be using humour. (in the way they did anyway)

For a mouth wash ad, this is kind of an inappropriate setting, and may be

taken the wrong way to some people. It's not even really funny anyway, in

my opinion, so why bother?

This ad could be taken as racist. It's almost implying that the white

version is better than the black. Many people may be sensitive to this

subject and find this advertisement rather insulting or inappropriate.

This ad is obviously somewhat sexist. It's implying that the male

needs to use post-it note's to remember the girl's name. This is also

an example where the humour isn't really suitable for the product 

they're trying to sell. What does sex have anything to do with post-its?

I feel this could be taken the wrong way to certain individuals. 

So in conclusion, do I think all these risks that come along with humour in advertising worth it? Yes and no. Like I said, as long as the humour is used properly, still maintains it's point, and doesn't distract the audience with its humour...then yes I think it's most definitely worth the risk. But, if the ad misses it's point and could potentially be insulting to majority of people, then no it's obviously inappropriate and not worth the effort.