Advertising
Advertising has been part of the American economy for some time. Over that time advertising has grown significantly from a single page ad with one black and white photo to today's million dollar multi-media campaigns, including TV and magazine adds designed specifically to make you want to buy what everyone is selling. At the heart of every advertising campaign is a sales pitch which is obvious. Beginning in the 50's advertisers were looking at all available techniques to get their product sold. This included a very new and untested broadcasting method called subliminal projection. The idea of using an individual's subliminal perception was a direct result of research in the 50's concerning the human subconscious and how it is effected by the world around us. One man in particular would try to use the subconscious to communicate directly with people's minds without them even knowing it. The term subliminal messages was born and the use of these messages has risen in the ranks of advertisers wanting to sell their products with increased results. In 1957 a new scare came into the public spotlight. This scare was given the name subliminal advertising by the father of this new technique, James
Examples of subliminal messages are images flashed on a movie screen at a incredibly fast rate such as 1/300 of a second or audio that is played below the level of the music or talk that is masking it. Vicary was the first person to think up subliminal perception and went on after much encouragement to develop a machine capable of testing his theory. But still the fears of the 50's concerning subliminal messages and their believed mind altering/twisting effects are alive and well in the uninformed public's mind. Many have had success when the subjects to be tested were primed for the desired action and then shown the subliminal messages. The FCC also went so far as to state that subliminals are not protected under 1st amendment because they cannot be classified as traditional speech. Key followed up his book with several others including one called the Clam-Plate Orgy. McConnel said when describing subliminal messages that "secret attempts to manipulate people's minds have yielded results as subliminal as the stimuli used" (Survives 1). This technology could have many uses from military to civilian, the biggest of which is media advertising. These FCC and NAB warnings were only the beginning of a long future of government intervention into the use of subliminal advertising. James Vicary put it best when he described subliminal images as "a mild form of advertising" and "a very weak persuader" (Wash 1). In that trial, Judge Jerry Whitehead declared that "subliminals are not protected speech, due to the fact that hidden messages do not impart information as do statements that are actually heard" (Suicide 2). This soon got the FCC's attention and they quickly developed guidelines by which subliminals would be regulated. The defendants quickly turned to the supposed existence of the words "Do it" and the strength that subliminals posses. The further reckless testing by companies on the public brought concern from many people.
Common topics in this essay:
Brave World,
James Vicary,
Advertising American,
Subliminal Seduction,
Jerry Whitehead,
FCC January,
Jersey Vicary,
Projection Co,
James McConnel,
subliminal messages,
Howard Johnson's,
james vicary,
lion king,
subliminal perception,
called 'embeds' key,
subliminal advertising,
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scene lion,
survives 1,
people's minds,
called subliminal,
called subliminal projection,
scene lion king,
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Acceptance Essays
