When people think of subliminal advertisements it brings to mind sinister experiments from urban legends where corporate giants such as coca cola flashed messages faster than the eye could see commanding theater audiences to go out and buy themselves a drink of coke. Claiming to trigger subconscious desires it was said this was a form of hypnosis yet the reality is we can find far more subtle subliminal messages even from still pictures. It is the complex relationship between what we perceive, the message an advertiser wishes to impart and the imagery used to portray their message. It is not even necessary for the real' message to be the products you see advertised as we will find out later on in this short expose of how subliminal advertising is used in almost every form of media today.

Subliminal advertising is based on how we absorb information in one small fraction of a second yet we are not consciously aware of this. Advertising and marketing agencies often try to introduce their products using pictures or even brand names without our being immediately aware of it. Using our coca cola advertisements again; many of these introduce the product subliminally before announcing the message by use of activities considered to induce thirst such as a volley ball game on the beach. Towels in the background bear the product logo and often the ball itself does likewise. In this way we are subconsciously tuned into the product before the main thrust of the advertisement takes us all the way' so to speak.

Sex sells almost anything and a quick study of random imagery; both still and video often contain subtle yet clear symbols representing masculine or feminine themes. More than one advertiser has been accused of embedded images within the shape of an object representing naked outline of women and sometimes men. Shapes are perhaps the most powerful symbolic representation of both male and female genitalia and some images sail very close to the wind when it comes to compliance with laws.

Many Western countries banned the advertising of cigarettes a number of years ago and this encompasses billboards, still pictures as well as television and theater. Tobacco companies continue to try and promote their products using a subtle form of subliminal advertising referred to as secondary imagery. One example found when researching this subject was an advertisement having nothing to do with cigarettes it was an old ice cream van selling to a group of young beach goers. The lower left portion of this picture showed the front of the van on which two seemingly random words appeared. The first and top word was open' and a short distance below this was the word cigarettes'. It could be argued the two words were unrelated however the subliminal message was unmistakable.

The purpose of subliminal advertising is to try and manipulate our thinking in some way be it to purchase a product or look at a political issue. This form of advertising is without a doubt quite powerful yet the human mind can only be manipulated to a certain degree. In some ways subliminal advertising might be considered a form of hypnosis which means that while a powerful subliminal message may influence our thinking it cannot compel us to do or say something against our will. If the effect of this method is that a significant number of consumers purchase a given product it does not signify in any way mind control the idea was simply planted and if the consumer truly did not wish to purchase the product then no amount of subliminal messaging could change their mind.

Learn more about this author, Ian Loft.
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