Today’s Transparent Subliminal

PhD. Att. Oana BARBUWest University of Timisoara

subliminal-messages are messages that you’re not consciously aware of, but are still able to

influence or affect you on a subconscious level.

What is a subliminal message?

◦"sub" = below

◦"liminal" refers to the "limen" or "threshold" of conscious awareness

Subliminal stimuli

◦Exterior factors you cannot control

◦strong enough to trigger a neuron in your brain, but not strong enough for your mind to be able to detect or identify the message consciously

◦They affect the most intimate level

An orange kangoroo from Denmark

Subliminal stimuli we cannot overpass◦Primary instincts

Sigmund Freud: hunger, fear and sex ◦Archetypes

If somebody rescues the princess he is a hero◦Socio-cultural symbols

The cross stands for?◦divinity◦cardinal points◦division of the world into four elements◦Life◦the union of the concepts of divinity, the vertical line,

and the world, the horizontal line (Koch, 1955)

Subliminal stimuli we cannot overpass

◦Prejudices

Subliminal stimuli we cannot overpass◦Memory stimuli

◦1909 Marcel Proust writes his famous work In Search of Lost Time

◦Gains its popularly for the notion of involuntary memory

◦"episode of the madeleine".

Subliminal stimuli we cannot overpass◦Rituals

Corona beer

a time-honored Mexican custom?

NO!

Subliminal stimuli we cannot overpass◦Emotions

we are all emotional human beings!

Types of subliminal messages

Subliminal audio tapes◦ The most common and well-known form of subliminal

messages ◦ verbal affirmations are recorded at a lower level (in other

words, very softly), and mixed with a much louder "foreground“ bubbling stream, rain-drops, Wind or wave sounds other easy-listening sounds

◦ Associated with therapeutic and motivational purposes

Types of subliminal messages

Back masking◦messages that are played backwards such that

it’s impossible for the conscious mind to understand anything.

◦During the 1970s, media reports raised a series of concerns of its impact on listeners, stating that satanic messages were calling its listeners to commit suicide, murder, abuse drugs, or engage in sex—which were all rising at the time

Types of subliminal messages

◦Silent Subliminal◦either a very high frequency message or a very

low frequency one, ◦inaudible to humans.

Visual subliminal messages

Most famous subliminal experiment:

In 1957, James Vicary conducted an experiment at a

movie theater in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Vicary placed a tachistoscope (a device which flashes a

series of images rapidly onto a screen) in the movie projection

room.

During the screening of the movie "Picnic", he flashed

rapidly several messages ("Drink Coca-Cola" and "Hungry?

Eat Popcorn") on the movie screen every five seconds.

He claimed that the results showed that Coca-Cola sales

increased by 18.1%, while popcorn purchases jumped by a

significant 57.8%.

James Vicary actually faked the results of the experiment.

Hidden symbols

Hidden texts

Suggestive images

•Hidden images

Today’s subliminal actions are even more effective!

they appeal to our 5 SENSES!

The obvious is the new subliminal!

Sight

Body wisdom

Sight

wedding consultant

Smell

◦New car odor ◦Barkley’s Bank ◦Singapore Airlines

TasteTaste of Christmas

◦cinnamon yogurt

Provoking a taste through visual images◦how does the summer taste?

Hearing sounds◦Music tempo

◦Nature sounds in supermarkets at the grocery rayon

◦Catchy sounds (Nokia sound, Intel inside sound)

Touch◦Toys that have a “try me” button

◦The tinier and lighter the digital camera or tape recorder is, the more cutting-edge the technology inside it must be, right?

Brand Sense - Martin Lindstom

UniquenessMemorabiliaengagementDifferentiateBuilds trust

But is it a transparent engagement? Where is the line between

transparency and subliminal in brand communication?

How can you outlaw something that is not consciously visible and it’s highly interpretable? ◦The moment you realize the subliminal message through your senses, it’s not subliminal anymore!