Subliminal Advertising

Definition
Promotional messages the recipient is not aware of, such as those played at very low volume or
flashed on a screen for less than a second. Its effectiveness is not supported by scientific evidence, and
its use is considered a deceptive business practice in some jurisdictions.

Importance of subliminal advertising:

Dr. Wilson Bryan Key claimed in a lecture Wednesday that the advertising industry is
using subliminal messages to manipulate the public.

Key displayed several examples of common advertisements and pointed out to the
audience what he said were hidden messages. Consumers have to "look in a different
way," Key said, focusing on "just the opposite" of what advertising agencies intend them
to focus on.

The talk, in 26-100, was sponsored by the Lecture Series Committee.

Subliminal messages often concentrate on the taboos of society -- sex, death, incest,
homosexuality, and at times, pagan icons -- according to Key. He claimed that, in one
liquor advertisement, the images of a fish, screaming faces, a rat, a volcano, a lizard, and
several other death symbols were embedded in ice cubes. Other examples Key showed
included a man with an erection in an RJ Reynolds' Camel advertisement, a battered skull
in a Bacardi drink, and the word cancer in a cigarette advertisement.

Key maintained that these messages do not appear by accident, coincidence, or as the
work of an individual artist. Rather, advertising agencies spend three to five months and
upwards of $50,000 to scrutinize every detail in each advertisement, he claimed.

Key reported that there are some 500 published articles on the effects of subliminal
suggestion in the psychology literature. While inconclusive, the research seems to
indicate that subliminal messages "affect some people under some circumstances, some
of the time," he said.

When asked about death themes in the ads, Key responded that "if consciously perceived,
you would probably run to the nearest [Alcoholics Anonymous]," but proprietary studies
have shown the ads to "work more often than they fail."
Key acknowledged that the advertising industry disagrees with his conclusions. The Los
Angeles Times reported that the industry's response is that it is hard enough to get the
lighting right for an advertisement, much less to put words in the ice cubes.

The Times also pointed out that many psychologists treat Key's research in subliminal
suggestion as a gimmick which cannot be disproved. Key dismissed this criticism, saying
that the attitude of some psychologists is that "people will see anything they want to see
in just about anything."

Key has authored four books since he became interested in the subject of subliminal
advertising in the early 1970s, while he was teaching psychology and communications
theory at the University of Western Ontario. After working for several international
advertising agencies as a research associate, his concerns made him decide to begin
exposing the industry, Key said.

Currently, Key is involved in a lawsuit against CBS Records regarding a suicide in Reno
two years ago, which he alleged was the result of subliminal messages in a Judas Priest
record. No legal action of this type has yet succeeded in court because of First
Amendment freedom of press considerations, Key said.

Key asserted that no laws presently forbid subliminal messages in advertising. While
some federal agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission, have regulations against
deceptive representation, Key said they have yet to address subliminal suggestion
directly.

Key claimed that "any politician would lose his job" by going against these multi-million
dollar advertising agencies. The only solution, according to Key, is education, learning to
consciously pick out the hidden messages.

Although the tone of Key's lecture was entertaining, he stressed the importance of
identifying subliminal messages in advertising today. Such secretive tactics has over the
past 40 years had a profound impact on the American psyche, he claimed.

Examples of subliminal advertisement:

The caption says “If you got crushed in the clinch with your soft pack, try our hard pack.”
The play on the words “hard” and “soft” is difficult to overlook; the ad seems to be
promising virility and potency to the prospective male purchaser of Benson & Hedges.

The picture portrays a young man and woman embracing each other. If you just glanced
at the expression on the man’s face for a moment or two, you would probably assume
that he is smug, as though he were thinking “If you smoked Benson &Hedges you too
would have beautiful women chasing after you.” If you study the expression on his face,
however, you will discover that it is somewhat ambiguous. He could be smug, but he also
could be a bit nervous. It is possible that the aggressive advances of the lovely young
woman are making him uncomfortable.

Some people have suggested the man shares a secret with male viewers that the woman
doesn’t know about. I wondered what the man’s secret could be. I hung the ad on my
wall for several weeks and looked at it every day, until one morning it suddenly jumped
out at me.