Persuasive Use Of Subliminal Advertisements

America is being ran by advertisements and commercials. Each advertisement or commercial has a subliminal message and are trying to peek at the consumer’s subconscious to

Subliminal messages are messages that are perceived in the unconscious mind that most of the time we are not aware of. These messages are mainly designed to influence that way we think and feel. They are used to get people to buy products from their company. Subliminal messages can be perceived auditory or visually. Subliminal messages should not be legal and should be banned from being used in advertisement for it can lead to negative results. There should be another way to advertise that. Doesn’t involve manipulating our minds into buying the products.

When watching TV, it is almost certain that an infomercial will cross paths with an innocent bystander. Some people ignore the enticing “deals” on their television, but others cannot help the classic “but wait there’s more” call. Today in America and around the world, consumers are being subliminally advertised to whether it is by a billboard, an online article, promotion by a celebrity, or even a commercial on TV. Many in the advertising and market industries use strong rhetoric to lure people into buying a product or service. The MagnaSoles article from “The Onion” however , exposes the loopholes in a satirical manner for those who may not be aware of the constant marketing battle.

In conclusion, although subliminal messages can be influenced by advertisements, movies and music effectively people must already have a need. Subliminal messages can influence your thoughts and behavior but they can’t make you do something you wouldn’t already do. Subliminal messages can’t control your behavior, they can only guide your decision

Lately, there has been an uprise in subliminal messages cleverly weaved into commercials. For example, in a KFC commercial, some of the lettuce inside the burger was actually a dollar bill.

Ever been watching an advertisement and suddenly felt you needed the product that is advertised? Subliminal messages could be part of the cause. The subliminal messages conspiracy can be proven true because an advertising manual tells readers how to create subliminal messages, there are reported incidents of the use of subliminal messages, and studies have shown subliminal messages can effectively persuade viewers. You can find subliminal messages in a variety of media and discover a lot of shady background to it.

Over the past two decades, researchers have found that the strength of influence subliminal messages can have on customers is measured by the musical tempo and the customer’s music preferences. In a grocery store, slower and more melodic music can be played to try to make the shopper feel at ease and thus want to stay longer. Slower music can help keep guests eating out in a restaurant to hang out a little longer. The longer the guests stay,

'Yet another rejection! I thought she kinda liked me. I mean, she smiled at me, laughed at my jokes, chatted to me all the time. Maybe she was just being nice, after all women want a guy who is confident, good looking, stylish, the ones you see in movies or on aftershave adverts. Not poor, gawky-looking guys like me'

The first question some might ask is what is Subliminal Advertising? The phrase subliminal advertising refers to ad messages intended to not be consciously perceived. The phrase first appeared in American mass media in September 1957 ("Subliminal Advertising"). Subliminal Advertisements concentrate on consumers ' hopes, fears, guilt, and sexuality and are designed to hopefully sway consumers to buy products they had never realized they needed ("Snopes.com: Subliminal Advertising"). Companies and organizations in a hope to make individuals buy a certain product, or make them feel a certain way towards someone or something, use subliminal ads. This does not sound like something that should happen, does it. But the truth is that if these ads were truly successful, government agencies would by now have successfully used this technique to eliminate child abuse drug addiction, drunk driving, tax evasion, etc. ("Subliminal Advertising"). Some psychologists are suspicious of the claims, while some are

Advertisers and marketing companies are mostly interested in subliminal manipulation because by targeting consumers’ subconscious mind, they can control their involuntary actions, emotions and beliefs. The subconscious part of our mind is able to process around 20,000 pieces of information per second, where as our conscious part can only cope with about forty. This function explains why any subliminal message that our subconscious receives, can be received and responded to by consumers without them ever being aware of it. This form of mind control can be very powerful if used correctly, it could influence consumers to want and buy a product without their control (Winder).

Tentative thesis: I believe that subliminal messaging is not dangerous, but rather harmless because of the different support I have research; I have found that consumers have much more control over what is perceived than they are given credit for.

Dave Ramsey, America’s most trusted financial adviser and a radio show host, once said, “We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like.” (Ramsey). Ramsey’s quote reflects the state of consumerism that our society is going through. Most of us can easily relate to this quote, let’s be honest most of us have been there done that and then later question our genuine need for whatever we have bought. Regardless, if we feel guilty or not we ought to ask ourselves why and what made this purchase seems so important and necessary at the time. Although this might not come as a surprise to most of us, the answer would be the advertisement industry. In 2016, The United States has spent more than 198 billion U.S dollars on advertising, making America the leader in advertisement in the world (Statista). These ads are designed to force consumers to keep buying things that are unnecessary by sending subliminal messages and applying psychology to trick the consumer into a spending spree. In his short story, “Subliminal Man”, J.G. Ballard uses science fiction approach to illustrate to his readers the preposterous techniques that the advertising industry has been using to boost consumerism. Ballard believes that the consumer’s brain has been tricked into buying against their well, by using technology and applying subliminal technics. Ballard short story questions the effect of consumerism on our moral values, lifestyle, and behavior. Ballard claims that

There was a time when advertisement were made only to market and sell the products but now dramatic changes have taken place in this field (Shead and Dobson 01). Today companies not only want to sell their products but also aim to create emotional attachment with the customers for which they do emotional or subliminal advertising.

Subliminal advertising is an interesting concept that many believe and fear. Because subliminal messages are mostly used through advertising, consumers that are familiar with the concept may be fearful of not being able to control their impulses when buying. It’s scary to think about not being in control of your own mind and thoughts, but lucky enough, subliminal advertising is not true and does not have any evidence of working in science. This myth is known to appear in all types of media, but most commonly in television commercials. Large numbers of

This was greatly adapted in the 1950’s and has moved onwards, becoming more common in the present. Subliminal advertising largely started in movie theaters, where in cinemas they would strew messages saying “drink Coca-Cola (Sheehan, K. B. 2013).” The “drink Coca-Cola” was a phrase that would appear on the screen during the start of the movies and during the intermission and it would subconsciously impulse the viewer to buy Coca-Cola from the food court. Coming into the future this method is used in videogames where while playing you are met with company logos upon starting the game and thereafter shown products from other companies that are placed within the game. Some of the oldest advertisements that appear are from canned beverage companies and now newcomers such as car companies are coming into play, all the while polluting our screens with more subliminal advertising. The introduction of subliminal advertisements into video games has become the next step for many companies taking advantage of a person getting engulfed in the game screen in front of them. In relative concept, companies are taking advantage of the real estate that is your television or your computer and even your mobile phone to get you to buy their products.