Subliminal marketing

essay

1. The word subliminal literally means ―below threshold‖. To elaborate on this it means that
you are not aware of the message – it is below the threshold of your conscious perception.
However you will still take the message in on some level as your subconscious mind
processes it and stores this information still. Subliminal messaging therefore refers to the
action of sending a suggestion directly into the subconscious mind.
The word subliminal comes from two Latin words, 'sub' meaning under and 'limen' meaning
(sensory) threshold. Subliminal message then means a message embedded in a certain
medium which is designed to pass through the normal limits of the perception of a human
mind. Thus, the conscious mind does not recognize the hidden message; only the
subconscious mind can realize it. This mechanism then may result to positively or negatively
affecting the thoughts, actions, behaviors, attitudes, value systems, or belief systems
subsequently later.

There are three types of subliminal message: Written or Textual, Image, and Spoken or
Audio. The two most popular are spoken and written types.

―Subliminal advertising is a technique of exposing consumers to product pictures, brand
names, or other marketing stimuli without the consumers having conscious awareness. Once
exposed to a subliminal marketing stimulus, the consumer is believed to decode the
information and act upon it without being able to acknowledge a communication stimulus.‖
James Vicary
The originator of the term ―subliminal advertising‖.
Subliminal messages have been used right across advertising – no matter what the product –
even the slightest subliminal suggestion can have a huge effect.Any discussion of the likely
impact of marketing on young people requires an understanding of the full range of
influences on their behaviour in the current environment. Like adults, young people are
affected by their physical and economic environment Marketing plays a synergistic role in
relation to these influences. Many places where alcohol is sold provide an opportunity for the
utilization of marketing materials which produce a visually significant impact on the physical
environment.
Subliminal messages have been used in advertising ever since their rise to fame in the 50s
and 60s due to the famous cinema subliminal advert studies. Possibly the best known
examples of subliminal advertising around the world are the coca cola subliminal advertising
campaigns.
Here’s a quick fact on coca cola – a survey was done, which found the term ―coca cola‖ itself
to be the 2
nd
most recognized word in the word – right behind the international phrase ―OK‖
How much of this has been down to their subliminal ads is unknown, but could Coca Cola
really go to all the trouble of placing suggestive and often sexual subliminals across their
media, products and advertising if it did not give them any benefit?

2. Unfortunately we don’t know if they have done trials to compare the effectiveness of
subliminal adverts against regular ads, and as you would expect coca cola stay quiet
whenever they are probed about their undercover advertising efforts. Coca Cola’s branding is
planned to every last detail. Even the very shape of the bottle is in the shape of a woman’s
naked figure!
Why do they do This?
Well generally subliminal persuasion tactics help to create a link their brand to qualities you
are attracted to – for example, sex, youth, glamour and fun!
One example where perhaps coke is trying to be young and fashionable is if you turn a drink
can upside down. You can make out two faces, and one of them appears to be snorting a line
of cocaine.
Take a new ad from the restaurant formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken that premiers
this week, in which a "secret" message is encoded such that it is only visible, while the
commercial is being viewed in slo-mo. Now the concept of hidden ads in-and-of itself seems
quite effective--even the most die-hard commercial skipper still has to watch the screen to
avoid missing the beginning of the next segment, so a fast-forward-viewable message is a
likely evolution--but KFC is stepping it up a notch and actually providing an incentive for
people to seek out the ad, offering a free sandwich to those who can regurgitate the hidden
phrase. Imagine that: there may soon be a day when we record shows not because we enjoy
them, but because advertisers have told us that they'll give us free swag if we comply.
KFC’s new television commercial that allows viewers to slowly replay the ad to find a secret
message has been rejected by ABC because of the network’s long-standing policy against
subliminal advertising.
ABC declined to say anything more about its decision but KFC disagreed the ad is
subliminal. Unlike secretly placed words or images designed to play on the subconscious, the
chicken chain says it has been publicizing that the ad contains a message and telling viewers
how to find it.
―We ran it through our legal counsel,‖ said KFC spokeswoman Laurie Schalow. ―We don’t
feel it was subliminal advertising but ABC did feel it was too close.‖
The ad, which began airing last week, is a seemingly ordinary pitch for KFC’s new 99-cent
Buffalo Snacker chicken sandwich. But if replayed slowly on a digital video recorder or
VCR, it reveals a message that viewers can enter on KFC’s Web site to receive a coupon for
a free sandwich. It’s aimed at countering the rise of digital recording technology that enables
viewers to skip rapidly past commercials.
ABC, which is running a version of the ad without the hidden message, is the only network to
reject the ad

3. The Federal Communications Commission said in 2000 — following complaints about an ad
with a subliminal message about then-presidential candidate Al Gore — that it discourages
subliminal advertising but has no formal rules against it.
University of Missouri advertising professor Paul Bolls said the KFC spot appears to be the
opposite of a subliminal ad because ―they’ve primed people to the presence of this frame in
the TV ad‖
So far, KFC is happy with the results. The Louisville, Ky.-based unit of Yum! Brands Inc.
said more than 70,000 people have entered to receive coupons on the chain’s Web site and
site traffic has increased by 60 percent.
At least one advertising executive said he’s surprised ABC would shy away from KFC’s new
strategy.
Coca Cola advertised in Australia with this poster, somewhere during the eighties. Until
someone discovered what could be seen in the ice cube on the right ... That's not a bottle she's
going to put in her mouth! The artist, which probably thought it was a good joke (it was), was
fired and sued. All posters were recalled and a new campaign was launched.
In the 1950's, executive James Vicary flashed messages across movie screens. The messages
flashed were "drink Coca Cola" and "eat popcorn". Coincidentally Vicary's research on the
movie screen flashes reported increases in the sales of Coke and popcorn. Surprisingly,
moviegoers bought 60% more popcorn than usual and almost 20% more Coke. According to
expert Michael Buchenroth, "Subliminal Advertising does not necessarily need to be highly
refined or sophisticated to sell products; it just needs to be subliminal."