Subliminal Advertising Essay Research Paper 1 On

Subliminal Advertising Essay, Research Paper

1.) On television, a common technique to influence a viewer is to flash messages or images for so little time, that it almost seems like a flicker that really never happened. Ways that this has been used is by flashing images that are pleasing to the eye, like a flashy color, or maybe even a picture with sexual innuendo. The cheapest technique, usually used by people, like car salesmen, is to ask the viewer a string of questions, which we all know will have the answer “yes.” By doing this, the commercial gets you ready to agree with any pitch they are trying to make you buy.

2.) A more cunning way to make you buy a product is to brainwash your emotions, questioning yourself, “Would I be a bad person if I do not by this product.” For instance, the people that would like you to donate money to the sick, hungry children is some run-down village. They show you pictures of babies crying, adults with hardly any meat on their bones. The commercial then claims that by your donation, you can save a life, but if you do not, you’re letting a life die. This technique is an effective way, but I believe that there are some ethics involved in purposely tampering one’s emotions.

3.) A technique usually described as using “buzz words” is found more in print than on television or radio. If we are scrolling through a newspaper and we see an exciting flashy word, our eyes tend to draw towards it. Companies are entirely aware of this, so that’s why they flash words on their ads like, “FREE,” “NEW,” “HURRY.” Something about these words makes us want to see what the fuss is all about, and to read the company’s ad. Now when you do read the ad, there will be “buzz words” embedded into the ad that do not even look flashy.

It is always words that do not actually have any significant meaning, but they are added in anyways. For example, words like, homemade, improved, 100%, tasty, just to name a few.

4.) Michael Jordan is selling you Gatorade, Jerry Seinfeld is backing up American Express, and Paul Reiser wants you to use AT&T. Why do these famous stars appear on commercials and ads. The purpose is to subliminally give the product traits that it never even deserves, like wealth, fame, and success. When you see Michael Jordan drink that Gatorade and then go for a 360 slam dunk, they want you to think that,”Hey, maybe if I drink Gatorade, I can become a great a basketball player as Michael Jordan!!!” Now when you see something like Jerry Seinfeld with American Express, they want you to think, “If somebody so prestigious and successful as Jerry Seinfeld loves American Express, than it MUST be a great card to have!” Besides the less obvious, there is simply the fact that somebody wants a famous celebrity to present a product, rather than some common person, what is the hype in that.

5.) Thirsty. Drink Coca-Cola. Hungry. Go to McDonald’s. Need underwear. Buy a pair of Hanes. The infamous “Bandwagon” technique, where the motto is, “Everybody else is doing it, so why aren’t you.” Companies that have already achieved marvelous success will start using advertisements, suggesting it is second nature to buy the product. As if it was so popular, you might be insane not to have this product in you house. For instance, the new saying of McDonald’s is, “Did somebody say McDonald’s.” Whoever came up with that phrase for their commercials is a genius, because there is so much behind that quote than what it actually says. It gives you the idea that they are the best, the tastiest, and the most popular, without really even telling you this up front. McDonald’s knows that they are successful, so they do not need some cheap gimmick to sell their food, all they have to do is be there, and the people will flock.

6.) Do you want to be fat. Are you trying to treat your hair badly. Would you like to have zits covered all of your face. The technique of “fear,” where they let you know that not buying this product will be disastrous on your own self. How about having dandruff on prom night. Mostly used on people that are uncomfortable with their self, and believe that they need some improving. Maybe the oldest gimmick on television today, the BEFORE/AFTER scene, where somebody looks terrible in one picture, than in the after picture, they look terrific! Toothpaste eliminates embarrassing bad breath, deodorant hides unpleasant odors, and face creams prevent ugly pimples, see what I am talking about.

Finding a target audience is the root of using subliminal messages. The company has to do extensive research on what audience their product attracts the most to; usual groups can be classified as teenagers, young adults, children, and senior citizens. The audience can even be more specific, like female, Latino, handicapped, etc. Once the company has established their target audience, they find out what are their strong points, weaknesses, vulnerabilities, fashion, attitude, and “taste” is. Once all the possible information is compiled, they discover ways into tricking the audience to buy a product. A popular way to do this is by using stereotypes that appeal to that particular audience. For instance, if the product is targeted towards somebody who cares too much on how they look, a company might use some dumb, but popular blonde, that only cares when her next date is.

Here is a little tidbit for you, Aunt Jemima of Aunt