Subliminal Messages

Subliminal Messages in Advertising: The Case For and Against Lisa Caswell Syracuse University

Running Head: Subliminal Messages Subliminal messaging and subliminal perception are controversial topics in the field of psychology.

Many studies have been conducted to determine if subliminal messaging does in fact work. Many people think that subliminal messages in the field of advertising are much more successful than subliminal messages for self-improvement, such as tapes sold to help the consumer lose weight, gain intelligence, or do something else to improve themselves simply by listening to a tape. Subliminal advertising can be defined as "embedding material in print, audio, or video messages so faintly that they are not consciously perceived." Rogers and

Smith (1993) surveyed 400 households. When asked if they believed advertisers deliberately included subliminal messages, 61.5% responded

'yes'. A 72.2% 'yes' answer was obtained when asked if subliminal advertisements were effective.

Based on these results, it can be concluded that consumers are aware of subliminal advertising, and believe it is effectively used by advertisers to influence their decisions. The term "sub-threshold effects," first popularized by Packard in 1957, preceded the popular notion of "subliminal advertising," whose originator is James Vicary.

Subliminal advertising first came to the public's attention in 1957 when Jim Vicary conducted a subliminal advertising strategy of interspersing

"drink Coca-Cola" and "eat popcorn" messages on a movie screen so quickly that they could not be seen consciously by the audience. His research initially reported increases in the sales of both

Coca-Cola and popcorn as a result of the subliminal messages. Later, however, when he was challenged and could not replicate or even produce the results, Vicary admitted that the results of the initial study had been fabricated

(Weir, 1984). Key (1989) has more recently claimed that hidden or embedded messages are widespread and effective. Key's theories have been widely discredited by scholars who have examined marketing applications scientifically

(Moore, 1982). Although a few scholarly studies have reported certain limited effects of exposure to subliminal stimuli in laboratory settings

(Greenwald, Klinger, and Liu, 1989), most academic researchers on the subject have reported findings which indicate no practical or predictable effect in an advertising setting (Dixon,

1971). The 1957 Vicary study has been largely disregarded in the scholarly community due to lack of scientific documentation of methodology and failure to replicate. However, scholarly findings and industry assertions may have had little or no effect on the average American, who has been exposed to popular articles and books promoting the notion that subliminal advertising is used and is effective. In addition, Americans have been exposed to advertisements claiming that self-help audio-tapes and videotapes containing subliminal materials can help the purchaser with weight loss, better relationships, an improved golf game, quitting smoking, and even birth control.

Awareness of Subliminal Messaging by the Public