Understanding Subliminal Advertising: Techniques and Examples
What Are Its Aims?
Thus, subliminal advertising aims to reach the subconscious (the part of the brain where there is an active set of desires, feelings, and impulses outside of our conscious awareness) through techniques that produce stimuli, usually images or text displayed in advertisements very quickly or hidden, invisible to the conscious mind. The unconscious is responsible for identifying these messages, which can lead to an involuntary desire to buy the product. Often, these messages suggest sexual relations. Subliminal messages can be transmitted in audio form, as well as through images and text, particularly in television commercials or advertisements.
An example of subliminal advertising was produced by the company Vicary, which sought to prove that subliminal advertising exists. They placed an ad in a cinema where people were watching a picnic. The ad flashed a text saying: “Hungry? Eat popcorn,” followed by a sentence that said “Drink Coca-Cola.” People were shown eating and drinking, having fun, but at no point did the ad display a glass of Coca-Cola or the brand itself. It was merely a listing of ordinary people at a picnic, but with two subliminal phrases at certain moments. The ad with these two sentences caused a significant increase in the consumption of Coca-Cola and popcorn. Two days later, they ran the same ad but without the subliminal phrases, and the result was that people did not consume nearly as much compared to the subliminal ad.
Another example of subliminal messaging is from Heineken, which ends with the phrase: “Piensa en verde.” This relates to the product, suggesting thinking of the green bottle of beer, but it also carries a double meaning with a subliminal message: think of something with sexual content.
3. Types of Subliminal Advertising
3.1. Subliminal Images
– With Sexual Content
These two pictures are the same but viewed from different perspectives. The images are from a narrow English newspaper advertising a famous brand of wine. In the first picture, you can see a woman holding a glass of wine. If we turn the photograph and crop the chin of the woman, we can appreciate a body seemingly touching the female reproductive area.
When two cans of Pepsi are stacked one above the other, they form the word “Sex.” This design caused them to be withdrawn from the market in 1990 because consumers complained about the lack of discretion of the word on the cans, which was visible when they were stacked together.
This image belongs to a poster advertising a sun cream. In the part of the chin, the word “sex” is written among shadows and mid-pieces of hair.
Was the intentional positioning of these two posters from France?
These photos have many double meanings. They aim to advertise a club, and our imagination is capable of perceiving what the poster really wants to announce.
The home movie “The Rifleman” has a somewhat obvious double meaning.
– Walt Disney Movies with Sexual Content
In this image from Disney’s film “Roger Rabbit,” at one point, Rabbit throws his wife, who is seen in the image, opening her skirt in an attempt to show her female anatomy.
In the movie “The Rescuers,” at the moment when the mice are going to save a friend, one can observe that where there should be a window, there is a naked woman.
In Walt Disney’s film “The Lion King,” a set of stars in the sky spells out the word “sex.”
– Other Types of Subliminal Messages
In this image, you can see the logo of Coca-Cola Zero, but with a subliminal message. The logo relates to the tragic events of 9/11. If you look closely, the name “Coca-Cola Zero” is already strange, as it shares a name with the site after the accident, Ground Zero. The drawings and symbols next to Coca-Cola represent the towers, which are subtly depicted as tall buildings. The horizontal line below “Zero” represents the plane crashing into the towers, which are shown as being destroyed in the middle, giving the effect of falling slowly.
As if this were not enough, there appears to be a black spot, which, when enlarged, reveals a hooded man dressed in black, representing death. The designer of this logo intended to remind us of the tragic moments of 9/11.
The record of “Las Ketchup” features strange corners resembling 6 tomatoes, which subliminally represent 666, the symbol associated with the devil. This message encourages society to believe in Satan.
* My personal opinion is that subliminal messages do work, and although they are no longer easily detected due to legal prohibitions, they still exist in new forms that we may not realize. I believe subliminal messages are harmful, and I support their prohibition. I do not see the benefit of advertising in a way that affects our brains unconsciously. If companies truly want to advertise and sell their products, they should clearly state what the product contains, rather than relying on subliminal tactics that complicate the message. In general, I think subliminal messages are a waste of time, and while they may affect us unconsciously, they fail to manipulate us as intended.