1. (a) Define subliminal perception.
Ans (a) Subliminal perception is an old traditional system of visualization of real-time awakening, and it is nothing new. It dates backs to 1950s when one market researcher named James Viicary claimed that by using subliminal messages in a movie theatre, he manages to boost the sales of popcorn and coca cola by a huge margin. Subliminal perception is used in advertising agencies to transmit messages that cannot reach conscious awareness even if attention is focused on them. There are two methods by which messages can be transmitted. One is by using attractive visuals and the other is effective use of sound. One can say that subliminal perception is perception below the threshold of conscious awareness.
(b) Describe two reasons why subliminal advertising does not have much impact and is more of a myth than reality.
Ans (b) Subliminal advertising does not have much impact, and it is more of a myth than reality because of the two reasons stated below:
1. It is revealed that the claim of the subliminal advertising of “Drink Coke, Eat Popcorn” in the 1950s had many methodological problems. This was first claimed by a market researcher and studies claim that he does not use any control group and people visiting that movie theater may be very much hungry or thirsty at that particular day. The results were even never published in any well known scientific journal. This means that the claim was entirely wrong and such a thing may never happen in actuality.
2. In the 1970s and 1980s, Brian Wilson Key published a book and make tall claims of the effectiveness of subliminal advertising which also proves to be false. He claimed that advertisers use certain phallic symbols embedded in print to manipulate and influence the buyers. It was now understood that if you look very hard at any object , you are bound to see something that you intend to search over there. So there is no such impact of subliminal advertising on people at large.
(c) Why do you think so many people continue to believe that advertising has subliminal effects, when it clearly does not?
Ans © According to a study that got published in the journal Psychology and Marketing (Pratkanis & Greenwald, 2006), "The history of subliminal research consists of cycles during which investigators report a subliminal finding, others fail to replicate it, but, nevertheless, the finding is publicized and achieves some degree of acceptance among lay audiences." This means that the impact of subliminal advertising on the consumers’s buying pattern or behavior does not exist at all. In spite of this fact and the result of other studies done on the same topic, people still believe the opposite way.
This may be largely due to the work done by a scholar named William Key who published a series of books in support of this belief from 1970s to 1990s. According to him, advertisers used sexual messages in everything starting from print advertisements to place mats at the restaurants. Thus this myth is propagated and public now even believe on this to a large extent. Many advertisers now use product placement to convey subliminal messages to the consumers by using the branded products in popular television shows and also in movies.
2. Discuss one criticism of advertising and a benefit of advertising based on the PowerPoint and any of your own thinking.
Ans. The critics of advertising are innumerable. Some feel that they do nothing good towards the society, and instead mislead them to buy some products that are simply not needed by them. The advertising says that things can satisfy our deep psychological needs, when they cannot. According to Joseph Stephen in his book entitled “How to Take Advantage of the People Who Are Trying to Take Advantage of You”, “ Companies, through advertising, for example tune into our psychological needs by showing us a warm hearty pizza around dinner time .”.(p. 9) It is a general belief among the consumers that they feel cheated once they buy the goods thinking that they will get the benefits of that product as described in the advertisement. Sometimes they are not up to the expectations of the consumers.
As every coin has its two sides, there are also some benefits of advertising as it largely promotes goods and services. It is possible to know about the large number of goods and services present in the market because of advertising. If there was no advertising then people will remain largely unaware of the endless products and their advantages or how these products can make their life a lot more easier. For example, many electronic gadgets like Smartphones and microwaves are making our daily life a lot easier and more important as consumers can know the wide variety available, can make comparisons of their advantages and features before investing their hard earned money. Many people find employment due to the ever increasing advertising agencies that promotes goods and services. So, it is question of perception as to how one treats the impact of advertisement on the conscious and unconscious temperament of human minds, especially the younger generation. But, it certainly allows to ensure quality awakening among general masses, and instill confidence in them through quality product.
Works Cited
1. Neil, O. Ean. Can you really be influenced by subliminal messages? Discovery Communications. September, 2011 Retrieved from http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/can-really-influenced-subliminal-messages
2. Morse, Breese, Stephen. Joseph; Morse, Robert. Eric. How to Take Advantage of the People Who Are Trying to Take Advantage of You: 50 ways to capitalize on the system, the Amelior Publishing Company, San Diego, 2006.Print
