In 1957, James Vicary claimed to have conducted an experiment in which he exposed moviegoers to brief messages about popcorn and Coca-Cola, stating that it increased sales. Learn about the experiment and the ethical and legal controversy of subliminal advertising.
What is Subliminal Advertising?
Have you ever walked by an ad in a store window and picked up on some subtle images or symbols ’hidden‘ within it? If you’re a Beatles fan, maybe you‘ve heard of barely audible or even backwards ’secret‘ messages in their songs. In fact, this phenomenon has occurred in millions of songs, advertisements, movies, and TV shows for decades. These messages rely on subliminal perception, the idea that we can perceive and react to subtle imagery and sounds without being consciously aware of them.
While some of the hidden images and symbols all around us may be placed there accidentally, many are deliberately placed to influence people. This practice is called subliminal advertising. The idea behind it is to use subliminal perception to make someone think favorably of a product — and hopefully purchase it.
Around the turn of the 20th century, marketing experts found that inserting barely audible music along with pleasant images made people feel more comfortable about purchasing things. However, other research contradicted this claim. In fact, subliminal advertising has not been proven to make people do what is intended, and it’s also considered unethical. Let‘s talk about a famous experiment that cast subliminal messaging into a not-so-subtle spotlight.