Subliminal Messaging

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: (1) The subject of the subliminal force is aware of its presence but fails to identify, if any, the effects of such exposure, or (2) recognizes an effect but does not confess to the stimulus or any contingency between the two.
In the advertising context, subliminal persuasion also has many different meanings. If a person were a follower of the works of Wilson Bryan Key, he/she would believe that most of these stimuli are of a sexual nature, and only a trained eye and an open mind can detect them consciously. This is not the perspective that I will be taking, though I will explore it later. Rather, can our thoughts, opinions or desires be affected (not controlled) by subtle or “hidden” messages in today’s media? What is the story behind every advertisement that we witness and upon further investigation beyond that of a momentary flip of a page, and what does it mean to you?

Myths and Urban Legends
From extreme paranoia to a $50 million industry to deliberate hoaxes and pranks, subliminal messaging can be found almost everywhere. One of the most influential and talked about myths is the James Vicary 1957 ‘experiment’. Vicary claimed to have increased sales of popcorn and Coca-Cola drastically in a New Jersey movie theatre just by flashing images spliced into a film reel containing the words “eat popcorn” and “drink coca-cola” that could only be detected by the subconscious mind. Word of the experiment spread like wild fire across North America. During a time of already heightened tension and fear of indoctrination as shown to Americans in Russia and Germany, the idea of such simple methods of controlling our minds struck panic into many homes. Many feared that the communists would use this power against democratic countries such as the U.S. What wasn’t as publicized was that the entire experiment was a hoax. Vicary falsified the results and could not duplicate the experiment when it was investi...