MEAN 2: Go to www.snopes.com and read the whole piece on subliminal perception. Read all of the “Hidden Persuaders” entries under business – they all are significant pieces of marketing trivia. Now develop an assertion and support paper of not more than 1.5 pages on the topic of subliminal advertising. Does subliminal advertising change consumer behavior?
I found the “Hidden Persuaders” on www.snopes.com extremely interesting. I know in almost every advertisement there are hidden messages, but I have never realized the extent to which companies go to add these subliminal messages to their product. I did not realize, until reading through he subliminal messages on www.snopes.com, that subliminal messages are basically everywhere. I was extremely surprised to see that most of the subliminal messages are sex related and are hidden within the packs of cigarettes or can be viewed once beer cans are stacked on top of each other. After I read through the “Hidden Persuaders” I stopped to think a minute about all the hidden messages that are beneath the products I buy. I took the time to make a list and was astounded at what I found.
As I was creating my list of products that I have purchased it became clear to me that subliminal messages definitely have the effect to change consumer behavior. Below I have my list a few things I have bought due to the image or message that was partnered with the product.
Maybelline Mascara – The long, luxurious eye lashes that the model was wearing. These eye lashes were false but I did not think about this until after buying the product and using it. At the time of buying the mascara I had only thought about how my eye lashes would look if I used the product and how this mascara would give me the long, luxurious lashes I have always wanted. Below you can see the picture where the model has perfect, separated, long eyelashes and is giving the appearance that this mascara will give you the same lashes as she has. In reality the consumer forgets that the model has false eyelashes that were applied to her real eyelashes by a make-up professional.
Next time you are watching a commercial take just a few seconds to really watch it and pick out the subliminal messages. I have started doing this with multiple commercials and by evaluating the commercial you will be extremely surprised at what messages (there are usually numerous) that you can find within a two minute commercial.
God Bless,
I found the “Hidden Persuaders” on www.snopes.com extremely interesting. I know in almost every advertisement there are hidden messages, but I have never realized the extent to which companies go to add these subliminal messages to their product. I did not realize, until reading through he subliminal messages on www.snopes.com, that subliminal messages are basically everywhere. I was extremely surprised to see that most of the subliminal messages are sex related and are hidden within the packs of cigarettes or can be viewed once beer cans are stacked on top of each other. After I read through the “Hidden Persuaders” I stopped to think a minute about all the hidden messages that are beneath the products I buy. I took the time to make a list and was astounded at what I found.
As I was creating my list of products that I have purchased it became clear to me that subliminal messages definitely have the effect to change consumer behavior. Below I have my list a few things I have bought due to the image or message that was partnered with the product.
Maybelline Mascara – The long, luxurious eye lashes that the model was wearing. These eye lashes were false but I did not think about this until after buying the product and using it. At the time of buying the mascara I had only thought about how my eye lashes would look if I used the product and how this mascara would give me the long, luxurious lashes I have always wanted. Below you can see the picture where the model has perfect, separated, long eyelashes and is giving the appearance that this mascara will give you the same lashes as she has. In reality the consumer forgets that the model has false eyelashes that were applied to her real eyelashes by a make-up professional.
Abdominal Machine – The model is the abdominal machine showed her picture before she had bought it (she was flabby and not toned) and after using the product for six months she showed her body after and it was toned with amazing abdominal muscles. When exercise equipment is introduced, it is very rare that the product itself led to the models in the ad to become as defined as they seem. These models are usually extremely fit before the advertisement is displayed and they were simply hired to give the illusion that the machine will give the buyers the same results. The picture below is of the Ab Circle Pro and is a great example of how a company uses sex appeal to sell their product. The model has a sport top on that is extremely small on her which causes her cleavage to attract the eye. Her shorts are very tight and small on her body as well. This company is trying to give the illusion that by using their machine consumers can get the same results and give off a “sexy” look when they reach their results. Again, in reality, this is not feasible by just using this product.
Do I think subliminal advertising changes consumer behavior? Absolutely. Consumers don’t realize they are buying the products due to the subliminal messages they have seen. When you see a product on a commercial or in an ad you automatically want to be like the people representing the product. So, what do you do? You go to the store or research it online, follow the reviews and then purchase it. If it wasn’t for the advertisement you just saw it would most likely not have been on your list of things to purchase. I have noticed that numerous subliminal messages, including the subliminal messages in “Hidden Persuaders” use sex appeal as their main way of advertising. I realized that sex sells in any advertisement. As much as we dislike it, as much as we want to remove these ads from television and as toxic as we think it is for our children, the reality is sex appeal is the way companies sell their products. By using sex appeal consumers end up feeling less adequate about themselves and they have the thought that by purchasing these products we will ultimately feel better about ourselves. Subliminal advertising is a vicious cycle that consumers continue to feed into the hidden messages (lies) that these companies are offering with their product.
Next time you are watching a commercial take just a few seconds to really watch it and pick out the subliminal messages. I have started doing this with multiple commercials and by evaluating the commercial you will be extremely surprised at what messages (there are usually numerous) that you can find within a two minute commercial.
God Bless,
Tiffany
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